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Big Ass Data Broker Opt-Out List
ZoomInfo
Check to see if your information is on ZoomInfo by filling out this form: https://privacyrequest.zoominfo.com/remove/verify. Opt out if it has an email on record—they will email you a code. ZoomInfo appears to have moved towards focusing primarily on business rather than individuals.
Special Circumstances
If you’re a victim of violent crime or identity theft, it’s often possible to opt out of information that others can’t opt out of. You may, however, need to provide court orders or other information. It may be worth checking more complete data broker lists which include those: https://www.privacyrights.org/data-brokers See this resource: https://nnedv.org/mdocs-posts/people-searches-data-brokers/.
If you are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence, sexual abuse, or stalking, you may be able to keep your address private through state programs that provide a substitute address and mail forwarding. To see if a program exists in your state, look up “address confidentiality program” along with the name of your state in a search engine.
If you are a healthcare worker with a National Provider Index (NPI) number, your personal cell phone number or home address may be showing up on various online directories and websites because they were listed as primary contact information when you filled out your NPI profile (or when someone else filled it out on your behalf). CMS now provides the option of using a post office box instead of a home address if you do not have a physical practice address.
Look up your information here: https://opennpi.com/provider/. You can update or remove information by filling out this form: https://opennpi.com/contact. You’ll also need to reach out to any sites aggregating this data, like Doximity, where you may be able to edit or delete your profile.
Preventing Identity Theft & Opting Out of Marketing Sites
📞 Consider freezing your credit, which prevents creditors from accessing your credit report.
(It also prevents credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name. You can receive a pin to unfreeze your credit, if needed. Note that you will need to do so in order to conduct business with entities requiring access to this information.)
To freeze your credit, you will need to provide personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, and social security number. While you can sometimes initiate this online, it’s better to do it by phone. Fees for freezing your credit vary by state.
To freeze your credit, contact:
- Equifax: 1 (800) 349-9960, https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
- Experian: 1 (888) 397‑3742, https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html.
- TransUnion: 1 (888) 909-8872, https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze or https://service.transunion.com/dss/orderStep1_form.page
- Innovis: 1 (800) 540-2505, https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze or https://www.innovis.com/securityFreeze/index
- ChexSystems: 1 (800) 428-9623, https://www.chexsystems.com/security-freeze/place-freeze. This will prevent approval of accounts, loans, and services being approved in your name without your consent.
Explore any privacy options offered by your state’s motor vehicle department.
Contact your home and mobile phone companies to see if they offer privacy options, such as not listing your number on caller ID or allowing you to opt out of sales of phone numbers.
Consider opting out of direct marketing and telemarketing.
This list, compiled by Griffin Boyce, has a lot of information on doing so: https://github.com/glamrock/data-brokers/blob/master/data-brokers.md. It was last updated in 2019.
You can also opt out of targeted ads using cookies and similar technology at the browser level at https://optout.aboutads.info.
Opt out of prescreened credit offers
Follow the instructions at https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
Get on the Do Not Call Registry
https://www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx
Additional Options (Paid and Free)
Brand Yourself, DeleteMe, DeleteMyInfo, EasyOptOuts, IDX Privacy, Kanary, Mozilla Monitor Plus (a white labeled version of OneRep, at least for now, OneRep, Optery, Privacy Pros, Reputation.com, and Reputation Defender are some different options for opt-out services. In general, note that removal services are not comprehensive, as some data brokers do not allow third parties to remove listings, and removal services do not include every data broker on this list, let alone outside of it.
There are services for media mail as well. For a fee, PaperKarma will remove your name from common direct mail vendors, including charity solicitations, direct mail and catalogs. You can also remove your name from Valpak coupon packs, for free. Sign up for a free account at https://www.catalogchoice.org/ to cancel catalogs you no longer wish to receive. For a fee, DMAChoice, will remove your name from prospective mailers, not including political mail or mail from companies you’ve done business with in the past two years. DMAChoice also maintains a Deceased Do Not Contact list to allow you to remove names of deceased individuals for marketing lists, which you can register for here. (I am sorry for your loss!)
There are several free services available as well. Have I Been Pwned allows you to check to see if your email address has been involved in a data breach. The free tier of Mozilla Monitor allows you to search up to five email addresses to see if your information is exposed in data breaches or found on data broker sites, and gives step-by-step instructions on removal. Permission Slip by Consumer Reports (disclosure: I work there) is a free app that will file a data rights request on your behalf to tell companies to stop selling your personal information, or to delete your account.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Online privacy and security work hand in hand. There are important steps to take to secure your personal data beyond finding and removing it from people search sites. For my day job, I manage Consumer Reports’ Security Planner, a free, easy-to-use guide to staying safer online. Check it out for personalized recommendations and expert advice on topics such as keeping social media accounts from being hacked, locking down smart speakers and home security cameras, and reducing intrusive tracking by websites. This tool builds upon the work of the Citizen Lab, which originally launched and managed the project.
If you’d like to learn more about me and my other work, feel free to check out my website, Yael Writes.
Further reading
Doxing: Tips To Protect Yourself Online & How to Minimize Harm (EFF)
Here are the data brokers quietly buying and selling your personal information (Fast Company)
Personal Data Removal Workbook and Credit Freeze Guide (Michael Bazzell)
Preliminary results are in! CCPA testers provide important insights into the landmark privacy law (Medium/Consumer Reports)
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