How to Protect Yourself from Data Brokers
If you’ve taken a moment to Google your own name, you may be surprised to find what information is available. Because of “data brokers,” things like your previous names and addresses, current address, phone number, where you work, and even the names of folks you associate with, are at the fingertips of anyone who chooses to search your name online. It can feel downright creepy knowing this information is so freely available.
Let’s take a moment to explore who these data brokers are, what information they’re gathering about you (and how), as well as ways to protect your information.
What are data brokers?
Data brokers (sometimes called information brokers) are businesses that aggregate data from different sources. What that means is that data brokers collect information about people from various places like public records, social media, and even your web browsing behavior. Many of us don’t even realize we’re consenting to our data being shared and sold when we click “I accept” on long-winded privacy policies and cookie consent notifications.
Data brokers’ main goal is to create an accurate profile of who you are so that they can sell it to other companies. Sometimes it’s to help other companies with marketing and other times it may be for risk mitigation (like helping an insurance company determine your risk and what rate they’ll charge you), fraud detection (like for banks deciding if they’ll give you a loan), or people search sites.
One of the world’s largest data brokers is Experian, which has collected information on over 1 billion people and businesses. While Experian is well known for offering credit services, it also sells data to businesses to assist them with their marketing strategies.
How Data Brokers Collect Your Information
Data brokers collect information like your name, previous names and addresses, current address, previous and current phone numbers, marital status, sex, whether you have children, who your relatives are, your education level, your job and who you work for, your buying habits, and your personal interests.
That’s a long list!
So, how do they do it?
Well, your web browsing behavior is key. When you’re browsing the web, you’re exposed to thousands of ad trackers. These trackers collect things like your search history and buying history as well as the personal hobbies and interests you have. When you sign up for services or apps, and provide personal information, you are also likely consenting to that information being sold. There are also public sources of information that data brokers scrape. Things like birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce records, property records, voter registration information, and DMV records are all a treasure trove of personal information. And let’s not forget social media! The more you publish and share about yourself, the more information that’s freely available to data brokers
Are Data Brokers Legal?
The biggest question on your mind at this moment might just be: Is this legal?!?
The short answer is yes.
Whenever you sign up for services and accept terms and conditions, you’re likely also giving permission for your data to be collected and managed. There are some laws, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU that aim to protect digital rights. In the U.S., laws vary by jurisdiction. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is one of the more stringent as it dictates that users have the right to know that a business is collecting their data, that they can have this information deleted, and that they can forbid the information from being sold.
However, these laws don’t protect every internet user — like Americans living in other states or internet users in countries outside of the EU. These laws also don’t change the fact that you might have to consent to share your data just to access a certain service. And if you choose not to consent, you won’t be able to sign up.
Data Brokers and Privacy
Data brokers pose a very real privacy threat to internet users.
Personal Safety
There are numerous people search sites out there including ones like Spokeo, People Finder, and BeenVerified. These sites do just what they sound like — provide information on specific people. Some of this data is free while even more information can be accessed with a fee. While the use of these sites can be innocent (like for finding an old friend), there are very real dangers for some.
People search sites make it easy for individuals to be stalked or victimized. Domestic abuse survivors often do not want their personal information posted online because it can jeopardize their safety plans. And the information on these sites can be used for doxxing, a form of online harassment where someone’s personal information is published online.
Identity Theft
Data brokers aren’t immune to data breaches. In 2017, Equifax experienced a data breach with hundreds of millions of customer records hacked. And a more recent example from 2020 is the data leak that occurred at Social Data, a data broker that scrapes social media profiles for information. The data collected during attacks like these can then be used to target people with phishing attacks, scams, and identity theft.
How to Limit Data Brokers from Selling Your Personal Information
Opt Out of Individual Data Brokers
One way to remove your information from the hands of data brokers is to opt out of each one. While this is a daunting task, there are some resources that can help. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has composed a list of data brokers and how to opt out from each one here. Motherboard reporter, Yael Grauer, created an opt-out guide here. And The National Network to End Domestic Violence has also created one here.
Use an Opt Out Service
There are private companies, like DeleteMe and Removaly, that you can pay to scrub your personal information from data brokers’ databases across the web. While they do charge a fee, using a service like this makes it easier to get your data scrubbed than opting out one by one from each data broker.
Install an Ad Blocker
AdBlock can disable third-party tracking to make it more difficult for advertisers to track your behavior as you browse. This makes it more difficult for data brokers to see your browsing and buying habits online.
Manage App Settings
Apps, even when you’re not using them, can be collecting information about you. Be sure to remove any apps you’re no longer using and to check the permission settings for the ones you do. And of course, only download trustworthy apps from trustworthy sources.
Limit What You Post Online and Who You Share With
Ultimately, one of the best ways to protect your privacy is to share less. Anything you post on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, or other social media sites can be scraped by data brokers. If something can be used as an identifier for a security question, like your birthday for example, it’s best not to post it. You can check out these 15 Social Networking Safety Tips for more information.
Bonus: Use AdBlock VPN
Using AdBlock VPN hides your online identity, which helps protect you from data mining companies and hackers getting more information about you from your IP address. That’s because your internet connection remains encrypted between the VPN servers and your devices. And if you’ve already scrubbed your data from a bunch of brokers, it’s a helpful tool to avoid getting mined again.
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