It actually seems like an episode of Black Mirror that it’s legal for a company to buy and sell our personal data without our consent, but that’s the reality in the US. Apple has built some really useful tools to limit future tracking, including App Tracking Transparency, Hide My Email, and iCloud Private Relay, but this doesn’t solve your actual problem, though. What they can’t do is remove the data that has already been collected, bought, and spread across hundreds of broker databases over the past decade.
What data brokers actually have on you
Most people are shocked when they learn just how much information marketers and scammers can find out about them by purchasing it from one of many data brokers. Those long terms and conditions you agree to (but didn’t read) when you download a new app or register with a new website often include simple clauses granting permission to “share data with selected partners.” What that actually means is that data as sensitive as your location history can be sold to data brokers, who then resell it to anyone willing to pay for it.
Data brokers collect personal data from multiple sources to build detailed profiles of individuals. Your cell phone number, home address, Social Security numbers, maiden name, family connections, past employers, car loans, and previous addresses are packaged and sold to marketers and anyone else who wants them (including people who will use them for nefarious purposes). The industry is largely unregulated, which means there are very few guardrails and protections on who can buy this information or what they can do with it.
The security risk absolutely compounds over time. Scammers and hackers who already know your job title, your neighbors’ names, and where you grew up can craft phishing messages that are really hard to spot. For anyone concerned about physical safety, people search sites serve as public, searchable directories that can map your location, your relatives, and your daily patterns to anyone looking.
Can’t you do this yourself?
In most US states, you have a legal right to demand that your information be removed from these databases. Unfortunately, doing so is incredibly time-consuming and deliberately difficult. You have to contact literally hundreds of companies, each of which makes the process difficult on purpose to discourage people from trying. Opt-out forms can be hard to find on a website, the process sometimes requires lengthy application forms, and you cannot make a single request on behalf of your entire family. Each family member must apply separately to have their data removed.
Even if you succeed, there’s nothing to stop brokers from purchasing new data on you and starting the process over again. Doing this properly across hundreds of sites is a part-time job, and the success rate without persistent follow-up is poor. Frankly, none of this should be legal.
Automated removal with Incogni
Incogni automates this entire process for you, so you can focus on living your life rather than trying to protect your personal data. Once you set up your account with Incogni, it sends legally binding removal requests to 420+ data broker databases on your behalf and handles the follow-up when brokers push back or attempt to re-collect your data. Incogni doesn’t do this once and stop. It keeps repeating the process at regular intervals to ensure your information stays off these databases, rather than being removed a single time.
Incogni’s Unlimited plan extends coverage to 3,000+ additional sites and lets you submit custom removal requests for any site on which you find your information on. You get a dashboard that tracks the status of every request in real time, so you can see what has been removed and what is still in progress. The end result is fewer robocalls, less spam, and a much smaller target on your back for identity thieves and scammers. You get all this without spending hours each week fighting with data brokers.
Cybersecurity Awareness Week: 58% off for 9to5Mac readers
This week is Cybersecurity Awareness Week, an annual campaign that reminds individuals and companies to strengthen their digital security. The basics are always about strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and recognizing phishing emails. There’s a threat that doesn’t get enough attention during this week: your personal data and your family’s personal data that’s already out there in broker databases, and it brings just as much of a risk as clicking a phishing link. Removing it from the market is one of the most practical safety steps you can take this week to improve your physical and digital safety.
Use promo code 9TO5MAC at checkout for 58% off. You can cancel at any time. Get started today and start protecting your family’s personal data. If there’s ever a week to deal with this, it’s this one.
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