Stop Data Brokers from Selling Your Info
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- How data brokers monetize your information and who buys it
- Why simply ignoring the problem doesn’t work, exposure only grows
- The two ways to stop brokers: manual vs automated removal
- Which removal service works best for most people right now
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How Data Brokers Make Money from Your Data
Data brokers gather your personal details from public records, online forms, loyalty programs, apps, and leaks.
Then they bundle it into profiles and sell it, and while this all sounds awful and completely illegal it is actually completely legal to do.
This is why data brokerages make billions of dollars a year from your personal data.
Here’s how they profit:
- To Advertisers – Targeted ads based on age, income, and habits.
- To Recruiters/Employers – Pre-screening candidates before hiring.
- To Insurers – Risk profiles based on your lifestyle and location.
- To People Search Sites – Public listings anyone can access for a small fee.
- To Scammers – While not the intent, this data often leaks to criminal markets.
Once sold, your data bounces between buyers and resellers, making it impossible to track who has access.
Why Ignoring It Doesn’t Work
Once your data brokers have your personal information, it’s basically over when it comes to privacy. Your details are now a product and there’s a million and one potential buyers out there.
Most of them are ad-companies, but there’s plenty of scammers and spammers too. This means massive increases in spam email, robocalls, spam calls, phishing attacks, and even things like increased risk of burglary.
Your info gets spread across dozens of sites.
Sensitive info (like your address) puts your physical safety at risk and the longer you wait, the more entrenched your data becomes.
Manual Opt-Out vs. Automated Removal
There are two ways to deal with data brokers: 1) the free, DIY manual approach and 2) the automated data removal approach.
One will consume your life and take up all your free time, the other just does its thing in the background, leaving you to get on with your life.
Can you guess which one is best? Yep, it’s #1: the automated removal tool way, and the reason is simple. It is next to impossible for a single person to deal with the sheer number of data brokers out there.
There just aren’t enough hours in the day; it’s like playing whack a mole. You deal with one data broker, then another pops up, then, a week or two later, you have to deal with one you thought you’d fixed, and the process continues ad infinitum.
Manual Opt-Out:
- Find each broker and submit a request
- Often requires ID, forms, or mailed paperwork
- Must be repeated every few months
- Easily 50–100 hours of ongoing effort
Automated Removal:
- Scans for you across 250+ brokers
- Sends legally backed requests automatically
- Resubmits when data reappears
- Works continuously in the background
Manual works in theory, but automation is the only option that scales and won’t steal hundreds of hours of your time.
The Best Way to Stop Data Brokers: Incogni
The most effective way to stop data brokers from selling your information is with Incogni.
- Targets 250+ brokers and people-search sites
- Uses GDPR and CCPA to legally force removals
- Automated requests & follow-ups — no manual forms or emails
- Affordable plans (less than the cost of a coffee)
- Real-time dashboard to track removals and progress
Within weeks, your information starts disappearing from broker databases, and once it’s gone at the source, search engines and people-search sites can’t list it.
Data brokers make billions selling your personal information. You get the downside: spam calls, scam emails, and identity theft risks.
Manually opting out is technically possible but slow, repetitive, and temporary.
The practical solution is automated removal: shutting down the source of the problem, not just the symptoms.
And the best part? Automated tools like Incogni are super-simple to use:
- Sign up in minutes → enter your name, email, and addresses
- Authorize removal → Incogni handles all requests on your behalf
- Automated protection → the system continuously scans and re-submits opt-outs
- Track progress → see real-time results in a clean, user-friendly dashboard
- You don’t need legal knowledge, spreadsheets, or tech skills. Incogni does the heavy lifting for you.
Key Benefits at a Glance
- ⚡ See real results in weeks, not months
- 📉 Removes your data from 150+ data broker sites
- 🔁 Ongoing scans so your details stay gone
- 📜 Fully compliant with GDPR and CCPA
- ⏱️ Saves you dozens of hours every year
Every day your personal data is online, it’s being collected, sold, and used in ways you can’t control. The longer it’s out there, the more exposed you are to scams, spam, and identity theft.
The good news? You can take action right now.