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Guides · updated 2026-08-24

How do I delete myself from every data broker in California?

Submit one request through DROP, the state's own Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform. It is free. Since 1 August 2026 every registered data broker must check it at least every 45 days, act within 90 days, and keep a suppression list so your data is not re-collected. No paid service can offer that last part.

What changed on 1 August 2026

Registration in California is not new. The obligation to act on a central deletion request is. From that date a registered data broker must retrieve requests from DROP at least every 45 days, decide and act within 90 days, treat anything unresolved as an opt-out, and maintain a suppression list so the information is not collected or sold again.

That last obligation is the important one. The most common complaint about paid removal services is that data comes back after a few months. A private company has no way to stop a broker re-adding you. A statutory suppression list does.

Who can use it

California residents. There is no equivalent anywhere else. Texas and Oregon each have a broker registry and a separate deletion right, with nothing joining the two. Vermont has a registry with no deletion lever at all. The federal companion bills have sat in committee since April 2025.

What it does not reach

  • Companies that are not registered as data brokers, whether or not they should be.
  • Anything that is not a data broker: search engines, news sites, forums, professional profile sites, your own old accounts.
  • What an AI model says about you, which is assembled from web pages at the moment someone asks.

How much of the problem is that

We cross-referenced the 503 sources we track against the CPPA registry on 2026-08-25. 398 of them are registered, so DROP covers them. 99 are not in the registry and have to be written to directly.

In other words, for a California resident, one free request handles the large majority of the classic data broker problem. That is most of what a paid removal service sells.

What to do

  1. If you live in California, submit a DROP request. It is free and it is the strongest instrument available to you.
  2. Then deal with what it does not cover: unregistered companies, profile sites, search results, and the AI answers.

Cartograph files the DROP request for California customers and charges nothing for it, then works on the rest. See what that means.

Common questions

Is DROP free?
Yes. It is run by the California Privacy Protection Agency and costs nothing. Any service charging you for a DROP submission is charging for something the state provides free.
Do I have to live in California to use it?
Yes. DROP is for California residents. No other state has an equivalent platform. Texas and Oregon have a broker registry and a separate deletion right with nothing joining the two, and Vermont's registry has no deletion lever at all.
How long does it take?
A registered data broker must retrieve requests from DROP at least every 45 days and act within 90 days of retrieving one. So allow up to about four and a half months for the last of them, and treat anything longer as overdue.
Will my data come back afterwards?
This is the part that makes DROP different. Brokers must maintain a suppression list so your information is not collected or sold again. A private removal service has no power to compel that, which is why profiles bought back through it commonly reappear within three to six months.
Does it cover Google, LinkedIn or news sites?
No. DROP binds registered data brokers. Search engines, social networks, news archives, forums and professional profile sites are not data brokers and are unaffected by it.
Does it remove me from AI answers?
No, and nothing does directly. Current models answer by searching the web when asked, so removing the underlying pages changes what they say. Data inside a trained model cannot be erased without retraining it, and no provider offers that.
What if a company should be registered but is not?
DROP only reaches companies that registered. An unregistered company has to be written to directly. Whether registration was required in a given case is a legal question, and stating that a company is unlawfully unregistered is a serious claim that should not be made casually.
How many brokers does it actually cover?
On 24 August 2026 we cross-referenced the 503 sources we track against the CPPA registry. 398 were registered and therefore covered by DROP. 99 were not and have to be contacted directly.

Sources

Every figure on this page is either taken from a source above on the date shown, or measured by Cartograph on 2026-08-24. If something here is out of date, write to support@usecartograph.com.