Data brokers make a living selling your personal information for profit. Your phone number, email address, home address, and social security number could currently be packaged and sold to spammers, scammers, and identity thieves. Your loss of privacy is their gain.
Apple’s privacy protections can help block some, but not all, tracking as data collection efforts become more sophisticated. If you want to proactively and continuously remove your personal data from broker databases, Incogni makes it easier than ever to fight back and regain control of your privacy.
The Data Broker Ecosystem
Data brokers have built a billion-dollar industry harvesting your information. They suck up everything. This includes loyalty cards, public records, social media posts, and anything else that can be used online to build a profile around your identity. Then they gather detailed profiles and auction them to marketers, employers, landlords, and, yes, even criminals. Your data ends up in the hands of the highest bidder without anyone asking your permission or telling you.
Apple’s privacy features can help stop future tracking when possible, but we can’t always rely on other companies we do business with to protect our data. Nor can Apple undo years of information already collected and distributed across hundreds of broker databases.
Technically, you have the right to demand deletion. In practice, tracking down these companies would require months of full-time work. Their opt-out processes are deliberately confusing, and it’s a never-ending game of cat and mouse to ensure your data doesn’t come back once deleted.
Automated data deletion with Incogni
The good news is that Incogni does the heavy lifting for you. Instead of spending months tracking down data brokers, the service is specifically designed to automatically contact over 250 companies and ask them to delete your information. Incogni doesn’t just try to hope for the best. They are experts in getting results so that your data is truly deleted.
Built by the Surfshark team, Incogni weaponizes privacy laws in multiple countries so they can actually benefit you. These include laws such as GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California, etc. Whether you are in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, European Union or Switzerland, they deploy the most powerful legal tools available to achieve results.
A comprehensive dashboard lets you track progress in real time, including:
- How many databases potentially contain your information.
- Deletion requests sent on your behalf.
- Deletions completed and folders in progress.
The real benefits of data deletion
Being cleared from broker databases yields immediate and tangible results:
- Your phone goes silent. Fewer robocalls and spam when companies can’t buy your number.
- Scammers are losing their lead. Identity thieves often obtain information about their victims from broker sites. No data, no target.
- Your address remains private. Stalkers and stalkers cannot easily find out where you live.
- Your credit remains clean. Less data exposure means lower risk of identity theft and better overall financial health.
Exclusive pricing for 9to5Mac readers
9to5Mac readers can save big on Incogni subscriptions. The service offers individual and family plans, covering up to four additional people.
Incogni’s Unlimited plan goes beyond standard data brokers, allowing personalized deletion requests from almost any website exposing your personal data. Dedicated privacy officers handle these requests personally on your behalf. (Social media platforms, government records and forums are excluded.)
Special prices for 9to5Mac readers:
- Monthly standard: $16.58
- Monthly Family: $32.98
- Annual standard: $99.48
- Annual family: $197.88
- Annual Standard Unlimited: $179.99
- Unlimited annual family: $359.88
Use discount code 9TO5MAC at checkout for these exclusive rates. Start on the Incogni website.
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