This Tool Deletes Your Info From Data Broker Sites

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There's very little privacy on the internet: Data brokers collect tons of information about you and your online activity and sell it to anyone interested in marketing to you. California residents have gained more control over their personal data than those in other states since the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018, and they now have a one-stop shop for requesting that their information be removed from hundreds of data brokers registered with the state (and any that do so in the future).

California isn't the only state to enact stronger consumer privacy laws in recent years, but its Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) is the first of its kind. The tool is live now, though brokers won't begin processing submissions until August. Here's what to do now if you live in California—and some options for removing your information from data brokers if you don't.
How to sign up for California's data removal platform

To get started with DROP, you'll need to confirm that you are, in fact, a California resident by verifying personal information via California Identity Gateway or signing in with Login.gov credentials. To be eligible, you must either live in California or be domiciled in the state even if you live elsewhere temporarily. (This is based on the location of your primary residence, where you are registered to vote, and which state issued your driver's license.)
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You will then be able to create and submit a deletion request. You'll need to provide some personal data, which will be used to match your request with records held by data brokers. Data types include names, date of birth, zip codes, email addresses, phone numbers, Mobile Advertising IDs (MAIDs), and vehicle identification numbers (VINs). You can enter multiples of everything except your date of birth and update your request at a later time—if you get a new car or change your email, for example.

While you can begin submitting requests now, know that data brokers won't actually begin processing them until August 2026 and could take up to 90 days from then to delete your data. If they find a match, they are required to delete all of the information they have about you, though there are some exceptions, such as data available through public records or provided directly to a business.