Data Brokers Are Selling Your Personal Information. Here's How

You never signed up for a data broker. You did not agree to be listed on a people-search website. Yet there is a good chance that dozens of companies have a profile with your name, current and past addresses, phone numbers, relatives, and a long list of inferred traits. They make money by selling or licensing that profile. This guide explains what is for sale, who is buying and how to take your information off the market, step by step. For the industry basics, start with everything you need to know about data brokers, and for the economics, see how much money data brokers make.

1. What is actually for sale

The product is not a single database. It is a family of products, built from overlapping data.

Category	What it contains	Who typically buys
Contact and identity data	Name, address history, phone, email, age, relatives	Marketers, verification services, the public
Demographic and household data	Household size, homeownership, estimated income band, education	Advertisers, retailers
Purchase and interest data	Store purchases, categories bought, hobbies, subscriptions	Marketers, analytics firms
Life-event data	Moves, new babies, weddings, new jobs	Advertisers, service providers
Financial indicators	Inferred credit-related or affluence signals	Lenders, insurers, marketers
Public-record data	Property, court, licensing and business records	Screeners, investigators, the public
Location and device data	Advertising identifiers, location patterns	Advertisers, analytics firms
Health-related inferences	Interests or purchases suggesting health topics	Marketers, in some cases subject to rules

The more you give, the more precise the file. See the data brokers selling your personal information and what is our private data being used for.

2. How brokers get your information

Brokers collect and combine data from many sources.

Public records. Property deeds, court filings, professional licenses, business filings and, in some states, voter data.
Commercial transactions. Retailers, loyalty programs, warranty registrations and surveys.
Online activity. Cookies, advertising identifiers and some app data.
Other brokers. Data is licensed and resold, so records spread.
Self-reported data. Contests, sweepstakes, quizzes and “free” offers. See guarding your personal data: the perils of sweepstakes.

Because the sources overlap, removing a record in one place may not remove it from another. That is why the process needs repeating.

3. Who is buying

Marketers and advertisers

The largest group. They use the data to build audiences, personalize offers and measure campaigns.

Lenders, insurers and risk companies

They use data to verify identities, assess fraud risk and sometimes to influence offers. When data is used for credit, insurance, employment or housing decisions, the Fair Credit Reporting Act may apply. The Federal Trade Commission explains your rights at consumer.ftc.gov.

Screeners and investigators

Employers and landlords use screening companies. Investigators, collectors and researchers use people-search products.

The public

Anyone with a browser can search for you on a people-search site. This audience includes neighbors, exes, scammers and stalkers, which is why public listings are the most urgent to remove.

Governments

Some agencies purchase commercial data. See does our government buy our private data from data brokers.

Curious what’s already out there? Wiperts’ 100% Free Diagnosis shows which data brokers are listing your name, home address and phone number. Check your exposure free — it takes about a minute.

4. Why it matters to you

The sale of personal information is not just a privacy abstraction. It has practical consequences.

Scams. Accurate details make fraud more convincing. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,008,597 complaints in 2025, with reported losses above $20.8 billion, and people 60 and older filed 201,266 complaints with losses near $7.7 billion (IC3).
Stalking and harassment. A current address is one search away.
Spam. Calls, texts and mail increase.
Wrong or outdated data. Mistakes can mislead people who rely on it.
Breaches. Databases with millions of records are attractive targets. See what is a data breach.

5. How to take your information off the market

Step 1: Find where you are listed

Search your full name with your city, your phone number and your street address in a private browser window. Write down each people-search site that shows your details. Check relatives too, because their pages can list you.

Step 2: Opt out of the people-search sites first

These are public and carry the greatest personal risk. Use official opt-out pages.

Spokeo opt-out
PeopleConnect suppression center, which covers several brands
That’s Them opt-out

For the rest, use our guide to how to opt out of the most popular people search sites. Save the confirmation for each.

Step 3: Use state rights and tools

If you live in a state that gives deletion or opt-out rights, send requests to brokers directly or use a state tool. California residents can use the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform at privacy.ca.gov/drop. It opened to residents on January 1, 2026, and registered brokers must begin processing requests from August 1, 2026, repeating every 45 days. Learn about California’s rules at cppa.ca.gov.

Step 4: Opt out of credit offers and calls

Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT to opt out of prescreened credit and insurance offers. Register your numbers at donotcall.gov. These steps reduce marketing contact, though they do not stop scammers. See secure online opt-out submission.

Step 5: Freeze your credit

A freeze stops new credit accounts from being opened with your information and is free under federal law. Place one with each bureau. See what is a credit freeze.

Step 6: Re-check and repeat

Search again after two weeks and a month. Profiles may reappear as brokers refresh. See why does my information keep getting re-added online.

6. What opt-outs cannot do

Be clear about limits so you are not disappointed.

They do not remove the underlying public record from its source.
They do not erase data already sold to other buyers.
They may not reach brokers you have never heard of.
They cannot stop a broker from rebuilding a record later from new sources.
Credit bureaus and screening companies operate under different rules, which usually let you review and dispute rather than delete.

Opt-outs are best seen as continuing maintenance rather than a single event.

7. Reduce what you give away

Decline optional data sharing in apps and loyalty programs.
Use alias emails and separate phone numbers for sign-ups. See how to set up an alias email address.
Skip sweepstakes and “free” quizzes.
Check app permissions regularly.
Think twice before posting your address or phone number publicly.

8. When something goes wrong

If your information is being used for fraud, go to identitytheft.gov for a recovery plan and report scams at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If the issue involves stalking or harassment, see defend against online stalking.

9. Questions to ask a company that holds your data

If you want to push beyond opt-outs, ask direct questions. What categories of personal information do you hold about me? Where did you obtain them? Which companies have you sold or shared them with? How do I delete them and how long does deletion take? Residents of states with privacy laws can often submit these as formal access and deletion requests, and the response deadlines are set by statute. Keep a dated record of each request and the reply. A pattern of non-response is something you can report to your state attorney general or to the FTC at ftc.gov.

10. Signs your data has been sold widely

Warning signs include calls from companies you never dealt with, mail addressed to older versions of your name, offers that mention a recent move or life event, and spam arriving at an email address you used only once. If you used a unique alias for a single sign-up and later receive junk at that address, you have found one path your data took. Use that as a guide to tighten the source.

11. Three scenarios and what to do

Scenario 1: You are bothered by spam calls and mail. Opt out of people-search sites, register for Do Not Call, opt out of prescreened offers and use alias contact details.

Scenario 2: You are being harassed. Remove address and phone listings immediately, save evidence, report to platforms and police and monitor weekly.

Scenario 3: You just moved or changed your name. Opt out of old and new listings, and re-check after a month, since new records are created by the move.

12. Timeline

Task	Time
Search and list	1 hour
Top opt-outs	3 to 6 hours
Broker processing	A few days to 4 weeks
Credit freezes	30 minutes
Re-checks	15 minutes monthly

13. Common mistakes

Paying to remove a listing that an official opt-out removes for free.
Opting out of one site and assuming the rest follow.
Forgetting relatives’ pages.
Not saving confirmations.
Never re-checking.
Assuming that deleting social accounts affects brokers.

14. How Wiperts fits

Brokers sell your data over and over, and removing it takes repeated effort. Wiperts scans more than 100 data brokers and people-search sites for your name, address and phone numbers, submits removal requests, removes your personal results from Google and Bing, blurs your home on maps and monitors around the clock so profiles that return are removed again.

See what is public about you with the free diagnosis.

100% Free Diagnosis: Check Your Exposure

Find out what data brokers have on you. Enter your details in the free scanner on the Wiperts homepage:

First Name
Last Name
Select State
Email Address
Website

Scan Databases Now — no payment is needed to see your exposure report.

15. Key takeaways

Brokers sell contact, household, purchase, public-record and inferred data to marketers, screeners, investigators and the public.
People-search sites are the most urgent because they are public.
Use official opt-outs, state tools such as California’s DROP, prescreened-offer opt-outs and a credit freeze.
Opt-outs reduce but do not erase, so keep checking.

Pick the Wiperts plan that fits your household

Plan	Covers	One-time deep scrub	Then
Individual	1 person	$89	$14/month
Couples (most popular)	2 people	$149	$24/month
Family	Up to 4 people	$199	$39/month

Every plan includes removal of your name, date of birth, salary, home address and phone number from 100+ data brokers and people-search sites, Google and Bing search-result removal, home blurring on maps, and 24/7 monitoring that re-removes your data if it reappears. See plans and start your removal

16. Frequently Asked Questions

What personal information do data brokers sell?

Names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, age, relatives, property details, purchase and interest data, inferred income or life events, and in some cases court and licensing records, depending on the broker and the law.

Who buys personal information from data brokers?

Marketers, advertisers, lenders, insurers, screening companies, fraud-prevention services, investigators, researchers, some government agencies and members of the public using people-search sites.

Can I stop data brokers from selling my information?

You can reduce it. Opt out of each broker or use a state tool or service, then re-check, since records can be rebuilt from public and commercial sources.

Is it free to opt out?

Official opt-outs are normally free. Be cautious about any site that charges you to remove a listing.

Do state laws help?

Some do. A growing number of states give residents rights to access, delete and opt out of sale, and California’s DROP lets residents send deletion requests to registered brokers in one place.

What is the first step?

Search your name, address and phone number, then opt out of the people-search sites that show your home address and phone number, and freeze your credit.

Sources

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