Whether you know it or not, your data is all over the internet. No, I'm not talking about social media platforms, I'm talking about data brokers and people finder sites. Data removal services say they can help remove your data from those brokers and protect your information, but it's not quite as simple as that.
You might be interested in these services if you're concerned about your privacy or want to protect yourself against identity theft. You might also be interested after having seen people on Reddit say they've received fewer unsolicited calls and less junk mail after using one of these services. However, these services aren't bulletproof.
Data brokers can get information from public sources, so there's nothing stopping them from reposting that information after removing it. That means if you see a data removal service say it can totally remove your data from the internet, you should be suspicious -- I know I am. (Same goes for VPNs that claim to make you totally anonymous.)
If you're thinking about subscribing to a data removal service, here are some things you should know before you spend your money.
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What are data removal services?
Data removal services can track down your information on people finder sites and data brokers and request it to be removed. Some services may not be able to remove your information from online, but they will alert you where your information is and show you how to request that the information be removed.
For data removal services to work, you have to provide them with some information about yourself, like your name and date of birth. The service then scans for that information among data brokers and people finder sites. Some data removal services, like Optery and DeleteMe, offer a free scan upfront to show you what data is out there, before they not-so-subtly encourage you to subscribe.
If the service finds information matching what you provided them, it will either send the broker or site a request to remove your data or provide you with the information to remove your data. These scans and requests for removal are usually automated and happen periodically. Services will also routinely send you a report to let you know where it found your data and whether a removal request was sent.
Data removal service limitations
While these services can request that your data be removed from data brokers and people finder sites, they aren't comprehensive solutions and have limitations.
One is that the services can't scrub you from the internet entirely because of the availability of public records. Records like birth certificates, criminal records and property records are public, meaning data brokers can freely use that information to compile a file on you.
Your online activity may have the same issue. If you post something publicly on social media sites, online forums or other places around the web, data brokers can see that information, just like everyone else. So even if you ask a data broker to remove that information from their system, those posts are still out there and can be rescanned at a later date.
Something else to keep in mind is that many data removal services don't cover every data broker or people finder site. According to DeleteMe, there are more than 4,000 data brokers today. However, DeleteMe also says its service covers over 850 data brokers. So, if DeleteMe requests your information to be wiped from all the data brokers it covers, that would account for a little more than a fifth of all the data brokers, and your info would still be on thousands of others.
Importantly, data brokers are unregulated and laws surrounding them aren't uniform across states. Some states, like California, have laws that are meant to stop the sale of personal information. Maureen Mahoney, the deputy director of policy and legislation at the California Privacy Protection Agency, told Consumer Reports, "There is no federal law that gives consumers the right to exercise their privacy preferences with respect to these sites. It's all very opaque and confusing."
Are data removal services worth it?
A 2024 study by Consumer Reports found that seven data removal services were ineffective compared to manually opting out of data brokers and people finder sites on your own. While the services did save time, manually opting out removed about 70% of profiles within a week, compared to a success rate between 0% and 59% for the tested services. Within four months, manual removals stayed at 70%, while the other services removed between 4% and 68% of profiles.
What's also worrying is that, according to this study, "some people-search removal sites advertised on or even partnered with people-search sites." Consumer Reports stated, "We see this as an implicit endorsement of the inherently problematic people-search ecosystem."
I found that the people finder site Nuwber, for example, features ads for the data removal service Onerep. It was weird to see, and it made me suspicious of whether Onerep removes data from Nuwber. Onerep says it will remove your data from that site, which puts me more at ease. But I'd be skeptical of a service's efficacy if it advertised on one of these sites and then didn't remove your data from said site.
Granted, I haven't tested these services myself, but this study and the limitations surrounding data removal services make me think these services aren't worth the money for most people.
So what can you do?
If you want to remove your data from data brokers and people finder sites, you can send manual requests yourself. Yael Grauer, a cybersecurity researcher with Consumer Reports, maintains a list of data brokers and links to manually opt your data out. That way, you can take your privacy into your own hands -- and save some money.
But if you don't have time or the desire to fill out request forms on your own, a data removal service might be worth it to you. These services might help limit who can and can't see your information, giving you some peace of mind.
Before you sign up for a service, be on the lookout for a service that checks people-finder sites in addition to data brokers. You should also look for a service that has recurring removals where the service will periodically scan for and request your information be removed from online sources without you prompting it to. And you should look for a manual, or custom, removal option. That way, if you see a site with your information, you can request that your service handles the removal request process.
Many services also include periodic reports about where they found your data and the requests they've sent. If a service doesn't offer these, you should consider another service. The least a service can do is say they found your data and are trying to remove it.
Keep in mind that neither of these methods will totally eliminate your digital footprint, and there may not be a way to do this since so many records are accessible online. But these methods can minimize where people can find your information.
Additional tools for more comprehensive privacy
A data removal service shouldn't be your only tool in your cybersecurity and privacy toolbox. For more security and privacy online, you should consider a VPN, password manager and antivirus software. VPNs can mask your online activity, a password manager can create and store secure passwords, and antivirus software can help keep your device from being compromised with malware and other malicious software. No one service is a comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity solution, but when used together, these tools can help protect your data and devices.
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