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?
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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.
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