California built something genuinely new. Under its Delete Act, the state launched the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, DROP, on January 1, 2026. California residents can send one request to more than 600 registered data brokers telling them to delete their information and stop selling it. Before DROP, the same job meant opting out site by site, 15 to 30 minutes per site, across hundreds of brokers. The platform is the first time the opt-out has been centralized, and it changes the arithmetic of the whole task.
The technical design is smart. When you enter your information, DROP hashes it, turning it into a scrambled string, so raw data is not stored or shared. Starting August 1, 2026, brokers must download the hashed requests, hash their own records the same way, find matches, and delete them, checking at least every 45 days. The 45-day cycle is the load-bearing number. It is what turns a one-time request into an ongoing obligation, and it is the reason the platform works where manual opt-outs fail: the broker has to keep checking, not just act once.
DROP covers registered data brokers in California. It does not cover the brokers that never registered, the people-search sites that operate outside the registry, or the data held by companies you have a direct relationship with. Connecticut is starting a broker registry, with registration due January 1, 2027, and as of 2026, 20 US states have comprehensive privacy laws granting some form of data deletion rights. But the patchwork is still a patchwork, and a California resident who uses DROP still has to opt out of the unregistered sites manually, and still has to repeat the process, because brokers routinely re-acquire data from public records, voter registration databases, and commercial data exchanges.
The other limit is verification. To match your request, the broker hashes its records the same way DROP hashed yours, and a match depends on the broker holding the same identifiers. A broker that holds your data under a variant of your name, an old address, or a different phone number may not match, and the data stays. The platform is a major improvement, not a complete solution, and the honest framing is that it clears the registered 600 and leaves the rest to manual work.
Start with a removal email, a new address just for opt-outs, because you will get confirmation emails and you do not want them mixed with your real inbox, or to hand brokers your main address. Then find yourself: search your name plus city, your phone number, and your address, and write down every people-search site that shows your info. Then opt out site by site, starting with the ones that clear several at once. The PeopleConnect suppression center covers TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, Intelius, and US Search in one request. Spokeo processes in 24 to 48 hours. Whitepages verifies with an automated phone call, so have your phone in hand before you start.
Expect the full manual pass to take 3 to 5 hours for the top 20 to 30 brokers, and plan to repeat it quarterly, because data reappears within 3 to 6 months as brokers refresh their databases. DROP does not remove that maintenance. It removes the worst of it for Californians, and it shows every other state what the tool should look like.
Keep reading: Removing Your Phone Number From People-Search Sites: The Number That Keeps Coming Back, The Opt-Out That Asks for Your ID: When Verification Becomes the Risk, and Bing Has Its Own Removal Tools: The 90-Day Block Google Never Tells You About cover the nearby cases in this series.
The Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, launched January 1, 2026. California residents can send one request to more than 600 registered data brokers telling them to delete their information and stop selling it.
It hashes your information into a scrambled string, so raw data is not stored or shared. Brokers hash their own records the same way to find matches, and must check at least every 45 days.
No. It covers registered brokers in California. Unregistered brokers, people-search sites outside the registry, and companies you have a direct relationship with still need manual opt-outs.
About 15 to 30 minutes per site, and 3 to 5 hours for the top 20 to 30 brokers. Plan to repeat quarterly, because data reappears within 3 to 6 months.