What is a data broker?

What they collect and who buys it

• What they collect: phone numbers, email addresses, shopping habits, browsing history, interests and more, California's privacy agency says. Some also infer your politics, health, family and finances.
• Where they get it: businesses you deal with, like stores, apps and streaming services, plus public records and each other. The nine data brokers the FTC studied in 2014 got most of their data from other data brokers.
• Who buys it: advertisers, employers, landlords, political campaigns, retailers and debt collectors. California says brokers may also sell to scammers.

The three kinds

• People-search sites. Anyone can search them, and many show someone's name, addresses, phone numbers and relatives. Spokeo, Whitepages and BeenVerified are examples, and each has a guide here.
• Marketing data brokers. They sell or license data so companies can aim ads and mail at you. Acxiom and Epsilon are examples.
• Risk data brokers. Lenders and other companies use them to check who you are and spot fraud. The FTC calls these risk mitigation products. LexisNexis Risk Solutions sells identity verification and fraud prevention tools.
• The FTC sorted data broker products into these three kinds in 2014. Some companies sell more than one.

How to opt out of data brokers

1. 1

   Start with people-search sites, because anyone can see them. Our guides have each site's own opt-out: People-search opt-out guides

2. 2

   Opt out of the big marketing brokers. Start with Acxiom: How to opt out of Acxiom

3. 3

   Then LexisNexis. One form covers its marketing data and its prescreen lists for credit and insurance offers: How to opt out of LexisNexis

4. 4

   Live in California? DROP sends one free request to over 600 registered data brokers: Our DROP guide

5. 5

   Find the rest on our list of the companies in California's and Oregon's data broker registries, each with its own privacy page: The data broker list

6. 6

   Keep a note of the date you opted out, and send your request again after you move or change your name.

Is there a law that stops them?

No federal law gives you the right to opt out of people-search sites, Consumer Reports notes. The Fair Credit Reporting Act covers consumer reports used for credit, job, insurance and housing decisions, but the FTC says it generally doesn't cover selling data for marketing. The same law does give you one opt-out: from prescreened credit and insurance offers.

What rights do I have?

It depends on your state. Consumer Reports notes that several states have passed laws meant to give you opt-out rights. California's privacy law requires data brokers to offer opt-outs, and the state's DROP tool sends one deletion request to over 600 registered brokers.

How did they get my data without asking?

From businesses you deal with, public records and each other. The FTC says data brokers don't get this data from you directly, so most people don't know it's being collected.

Is Nope a data broker?

Not as California defines one: we never sell, rent or trade personal information, to anyone. We do pay a people-search data provider for the record tied to a number you scan, so we can show you what people-search records say about you. What we keep is listed at asknope.com/not-a-data-broker.