What Is a Data Broker?
A data broker is a company that collects personal information about you — from public records, online activity, and commercial transactions — then sells, licenses, or shares that information with third parties. You usually have no direct relationship with them. They build a profile of you, and they profit by selling access to it.
Canonical definition
A data broker is a business that knowingly collects and sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship. (Adapted from California Civil Code § 1798.99.80 and Vermont 9 V.S.A. § 2446.)
How a data broker works
Think of a data broker as an information aggregator running four processes simultaneously:
- 1
Collect
Scrape public records (deeds, court filings, voter rolls), purchase customer lists from retailers, track online activity via third-party cookies and SDKs, and buy from other brokers.
- 2
Match
Use identifiers (email, phone, address, device ID, cookie ID) to link fragments of your activity into a single consumer profile. One broker typically links 100+ attributes per person.
- 3
Enrich
Append derived attributes — estimated income, credit tier, family size, hobbies, political leanings — inferred from your behavior patterns.
- 4
Sell
Offer the profile for sale: bulk lists for direct marketing, query access for background checks, per-record API calls for fraud detection, and segmented audiences for ad targeting.
The categories of data brokers
Not every broker is the same. Major US categories and representative companies:
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| People-search sites | Whitepages, Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch | Public name/address lookup |
| Background-check providers | BeenVerified, Intelius, Checkpeople | Identity verification, employment screening |
| B2B sales data | ZoomInfo, Apollo.io, Lusha | B2B prospecting, sales intelligence |
| Marketing data aggregators | Acxiom, Epsilon, Experian Marketing | Ad targeting, audience segmentation |
| Credit-adjacent | LexisNexis, TLOxp | Underwriting, fraud detection |
| Property and automotive | CoreLogic, Carfax, Realtor.com | Real-estate and vehicle intelligence |
| Health data brokers | IQVIA, Acxiom Health | Pharmaceutical marketing |
| Location data brokers | Veraset, Safegraph | Foot-traffic and mobility data |
How data brokers affect you
Spam and telemarketing calls
Phone-number lists sold to call centres.
Identity theft risk
Aggregated profiles simplify impersonation attacks.
Stalking and harassment
Home addresses accessible to anyone willing to search or pay.
Discriminatory targeting
Derived attributes enable predatory ad targeting.
Insurance and credit impact
Non-traditional factors can affect underwriting decisions.
Employment screening errors
Inaccurate records can cost job opportunities.
Your legal rights
Depending on where you live, you have one or more of these rights against data brokers:
- →
Right to delete
Demand they remove your personal data. Available under CCPA, VCDPA, CPA, CTDPA, OCPA, UCPA, TDPSA, NJDPA, MCDPA, TIPA, MODPA, and all peer state laws.
- →
Right to access
Request a copy of the data they hold. Available everywhere deletion is available.
- →
Right to correct
Demand inaccurate data be fixed. CPRA, VCDPA, CPA, and peers. Notably absent from Utah (UCPA) and Iowa (ICDPA).
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Right to opt out of sale
Direct the broker to stop selling your information. Available under CCPA, NV SB 220, and peer state laws.
- →
Right to opt out of profiling
Prevent automated decision-making that produces significant effects. Minnesota, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey.
- →
Universal opt-out recognition
In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, a GPC browser signal is a legal opt-out.
Use your rights
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OfflistMe drafts legally compliant deletion emails for every major data broker. You send them from your own inbox. No account, no ID upload, no subscription.
Start for $2 →FAQ
What is a data broker in simple terms?+
A data broker is a company that collects personal information about you from public records, online activity, and commercial transactions, then sells, licenses, or shares that information with third parties. They typically never interact with you directly — they assemble profiles and offer them to marketers, background-check services, insurers, and other buyers.
How do data brokers get my information?+
Four main channels: (1) public records — property deeds, court filings, voter rolls, business registrations; (2) online activity — websites, apps, loyalty programs, social media; (3) commercial transactions — credit bureaus, retailers, subscription services that resell customer data; (4) other data brokers — many brokers buy and augment data from each other, creating a layered aggregation ecosystem.
Are data brokers legal?+
Yes, the data broker industry is legal in the United States but increasingly regulated. California, Vermont, Texas, and Oregon operate public registries requiring brokers to register annually. Over 20 states have comprehensive privacy laws granting residents deletion rights. The FTC has authority over unfair and deceptive practices. EU/EEA residents have GDPR-level protection.
How many data brokers are there?+
Estimates vary. California's public registry has over 500 registered entities. The broader ecosystem — including brokers that do not meet state registration thresholds — is estimated at 4,000+ globally. Major categories include people-search sites (~100), background-check providers (~50), B2B sales-data providers (~25), marketing-data aggregators (~30), and specialty verticals like property, automotive, and healthcare data.
Can I remove myself from every data broker?+
You can remove yourself from most brokers, but not all at once. Under CCPA and peer state laws, brokers must honor deletion requests within 45 days (or 72 hours for federal judges under the Daniel Anderl Act). Because there is no single universal opt-out today (California's Delete Act launches one in August 2026), you currently submit requests broker-by-broker or use a tool like OfflistMe that generates the requests in bulk.
What is the difference between a data broker and a people-search site?+
A people-search site is a subtype of data broker — specifically one that offers public-facing lookup by name, phone, address, or email. Examples: Whitepages, Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch, BeenVerified, Nuwber. Other data broker categories (background check, B2B sales data, marketing data, property data) do not offer public search interfaces — they sell data to business customers only.
Why would a data broker have my information if I have never used their service?+
Because you have never interacted with them is why — data brokers specifically aggregate information you did not knowingly provide. They scrape public records (which are public by law), purchase customer lists from other businesses, and buy from other brokers. The chain of acquisition means your data can move through multiple hands without your knowledge or specific consent.
How much money do data brokers make from my data?+
Individual consumer data is cheap at wholesale — typically fractions of a cent per record in bulk. The industry makes money by aggregating billions of records and selling access in volume: $50-500 per customer "list," subscription access at $100-1000/month, and deep "enriched" profiles for background checks at $20-50 per record. Global data-broker industry revenue is estimated at $200+ billion annually.