If you’ve ever wondered why your phone keeps ringing with calls from numbers you don’t recognize, your personal information may be circulating among data brokers.
California has introduced a new tool designed to give residents more control over that information.
What Is the DROP Tool?
The Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) allows California residents to submit one request asking registered data brokers to delete their personal information and stop selling it.
Rather than contacting hundreds of companies individually, the system sends your request to more than 600 registered data brokers through a single submission.
What Are Data Brokers?
Data brokers are companies that collect personal information from a variety of public and commercial sources.
That information can include details such as your name, address, phone number, email address, and other identifying information. The data is often used for advertising, marketing, and consumer profiling.
What the Tool Can Do
Using DROP may help reduce:
- Unwanted marketing calls
- Spam emails
- Marketing text messages
- The sale of your personal information by participating data brokers
What It Doesn’t Do
It’s important to have realistic expectations.
The DROP tool does not erase you from the internet, remove information from search engines, or eliminate every spam call.
Instead, it gives California residents an easier way to exercise the privacy rights already provided under state law.
How to Submit a Request
California residents can submit a request directly through the state’s official website:
privacy.ca.gov/drop
The process only takes a few minutes and can help limit how your information is shared going forward.
As concerns around online privacy continue to grow, tools like DROP give consumers more control over their personal information without having to contact hundreds of companies individually.
