Over 155,000 Californians have opted out of data brokers selling personal info

Last Updated on January 20, 2026 by The HD Post Staff

CALIFORNIA – Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Privacy Protection Agency unveiled a new tool on January 20 that allows Californians to easily opt out of data brokers selling their personal information.

The Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform, known as DROP, was created under SB 362 (the Delete Act), signed by Newsom in 2023 to strengthen California’s privacy protections.

As of January 1, Californians can tell data brokers to stop selling their personal information through the online platform.

Data brokers quietly collect and sell personal data without clear consent, increasing risks of fraud and misuse.

In a summer 2023 survey, 44 % of Californians reported having been a victim of identity theft or fraud, which may be influenced by widespread personal data collection by brokers.

A University of California, Irvine study found that roughly 43% of California’s registered data brokers failed to respond to consumer access or deletion requests under the California Consumer Privacy Act, despite legal obligations to do so.

Must start processing deletion requests August 1, 2026

As of January 1, Californians can submit a single deletion request to registered data brokers through DROP. The platform verifies the user’s California residency and then transmits the deletion request to the data brokers.

Under the Delete Act, data brokers must begin processing deletion requests on August 1, 2026.

DROP simplifies the process of requesting that data brokers stop sharing and selling their data. Previously, each data broker had to be contacted individually, making removal requests difficult and time-consuming.

Submit a deletion request

Developed by CalPrivacy and the California Department of Technology, DROP is the world’s first government-built platform of its kind.

For more information about the Delete Act and how Californians can submit a deletion request, visit https://privacy.ca.gov/drop/.