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Data brokers caught hiding privacy opt-out pages from search results [1]

['Ellsworth Toohey']

Date: 2025-08-13

If you've ever tried to remove your personal information from the internet, data brokers are making that task deliberately harder by hiding their deletion request pages from Google searches, a new investigation reveals.

The Markup and CalMatters found 35 data broker companies — firms that harvest and sell your personal information — using special code to prevent their opt-out pages from appearing in search results. These hidden pages are where consumers can legally request removal of their private details like addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive data that these companies collect and sell.

Companies like Telesign and ipapi exemplify the problem. Even when they provide legally required opt-out forms, they hide them from search engines and bury them deep in legal documents. For example, Telesign forces consumers to wade through 7,000 words of legal text to find their deletion form. BrightCheck went further — their privacy page has disappeared entirely, despite a California law requiring them to maintain one.

The impact on consumers is significant: while California law gives residents the right to request deletion of their personal data, these companies' tactics effectively prevent people from exercising that right. "This sounds to me like a clever work around to make it as hard as possible for consumers to find it," said Matthew Schwartz, a policy analyst at Consumer Reports.

Previously:

• New York Times analyzes a leaked set of location data from a private broker, sounds the alarm

• Florida DMV makes millions selling Floridians' data…for pennies (and you can't opt out)

• Ignoring warrants, the Secret Service has been buying up location data from phone companies

• The U.S. government is the top customer when it comes to buying Americans' private data

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