We Made a Mistake. Here's How We Fixed It.

In February 2026, we conducted a comprehensive legal audit of every company in our data broker directory. The result: we reclassified and removed 27 companies that don't meet the statutory definition of a data broker under California law.

This article explains exactly which companies we removed, why, and what it means for our users.

What Happened

When we originally built our broker directory, we included every company that collects personal data and has an opt-out mechanism. That seemed reasonable — if they have your data and you can ask them to delete it, why not?

The problem: having an opt-out form doesn't make a company a data broker.

California Civil Code Section 1798.99.80 defines a data broker as a company that collects and sells personal data from consumers with whom it does not have a direct relationship. Many companies we included — dating apps, background check firms, review platforms — have direct relationships with their users.

The Full List

Dating Platforms Removed (6 companies)

Match.com
Bumble
Hinge
OkCupid
Plenty of Fish
Tinder

Why: Users create accounts and voluntarily provide their own profile data. These platforms have direct relationships with every person whose data they hold.

Background Check Companies Removed (5 companies)

HireRight
Sterling
Checkr
GoodHire
Accurate Background

Why: Subjects consent to background checks under FCRA Section 604 before any check is run. The company-subject relationship is direct and consent-based. (Note: The Work Number by Equifax was NOT removed — it's an Equifax subsidiary registered on California's broker registry that collects employment data from employers without employee consent.)

Review and Content Platforms Removed (5 companies)

Trustpilot
ConsumerAffairs
SiteJabber
PissedConsumer
ComplaintsBoard

Why: Users voluntarily post their own reviews and content. These are user-generated content platforms, not data brokers.

Gray Area Companies Excluded (11 companies)

Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes.com, HomeSnap, Movoto
Healthgrades, Vitals
Yelp, TripAdvisor

Why: These companies straddle the line — they aggregate public records (broker behavior) but also maintain direct user relationships. Rather than force a classification, we excluded them from automated removals pending clearer legal guidance.

What This Means for Users

Your removals are now 100% legally verified

Every company remaining in our directory meets the statutory definition of a data broker. When we send a removal request on your behalf, it's backed by California law.

No removals were lost

We cancelled pending requests to reclassified companies, but these were requests that had no legal basis to begin with. Your removal count may look different, but the removals that matter — from actual data brokers — are unaffected.

More accurate exposure counts

Your dashboard now shows exposures from verified data brokers only. Some users may see lower exposure counts, but these numbers are now legally accurate.

Why We're Telling You This

Most companies would quietly make this change and hope no one noticed. We're publishing the full list because:

Transparency builds trust — you should know exactly which companies we're targeting and why
It's the right thing to do — sending unauthorized removal requests to non-brokers wastes everyone's time
We want to raise the standard — the data removal industry needs better compliance practices

How We Prevent This Going Forward

We built automated compliance infrastructure to ensure our directory stays accurate:

Daily compliance monitoring — every opt-out URL is health-checked daily
Weekly classification audits — automated review flags any entries that may need reclassification
Legal classification system — every source is tagged as STATUTORY_DATA_BROKER, DIRECT_RELATIONSHIP, SERVICE_PROVIDER, GRAY_AREA, or MONITORING_ONLY
Conservative defaults — new sources default to excluded until manually verified

The Bigger Picture

This experience highlighted a problem across the entire data removal industry: most services don't apply any legal standard to their broker lists. They target as many companies as possible because bigger numbers look better in marketing.

We believe the opposite: accuracy is more valuable than volume. One legally verified removal from an actual data broker is worth more than a hundred requests to companies that will ignore them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were my removal counts different after the update?

We cancelled pending removal requests to companies that were reclassified as non-brokers. These requests had no legal basis and would not have resulted in actual data deletion.

Can I still request removal from the companies you reclassified?

You can contact these companies directly under CCPA or GDPR to request data deletion. However, they are not data brokers under California law, and the specific Delete Act removal rights don't apply.

Does this mean other privacy services are sending unauthorized requests?

We can't speak for other services, but many do include dating apps, background check companies, and review platforms in their removal lists. We encourage users to ask their provider what legal standard they apply.

Will you add these companies back if the law changes?

If California or federal legislation expands the data broker definition, we'll update our directory accordingly. We review legal developments quarterly.

Why We Removed Match.com, Yelp, and 27 Others From Our Removal List