California Launches First Tool to Delete Personal Data

Starting this month, millions of Californians gained a superpower: the ability to erase themselves from the shadowy world of data brokers with just a few clicks.

The Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) launched January 1st, making California the first state to offer a centralized tool for deleting personal information. More than 500 data brokers now face legal requirements to honor deletion requests, or they'll pay $200 per day in fines.

Data brokers quietly collect everything from your online shopping habits to your location history, packaging it into profiles sold to advertisers, landlords, and insurance companies. Sometimes that data ends up in the wrong hands, leading to identity theft or worse.

Now California residents can fight back at privacy.ca.gov/drop. The setup takes just minutes. You verify your California residency with basic information like your name, birthdate, and address. Then you submit a deletion request covering all your current and past identities, including maiden names or previous addresses.

The platform even lets you add mobile advertising IDs from your phone or your vehicle identification number. The more details you provide, the more thoroughly brokers must scrub their databases.

While signup opened this month, actual deletions don't begin until August 1st. After that, brokers must process requests every 45 days. You can update your profile anytime if you move, buy a new car, or get a new phone.

The Ripple Effect

Privacy advocates see DROP as the beginning of a nationwide movement. Hayley Tsukayama from the Electronic Frontier Foundation expects people will notice fewer spam texts and unwanted marketing emails, the most visible signs that brokers are trafficking in your information.

The deeper impact matters even more. Less personal data floating around means fewer opportunities for algorithms to track your medical visits or pinpoint your exact location. It means domestic abusers and fraudsters lose access to tools that make victims easy to find.

DROP isn't perfect. It only covers California-registered brokers, and public records like property ownership remain accessible. But it's a meaningful first step toward giving people control over their digital shadows.

Other states are watching closely. If DROP succeeds, similar tools could spread nationwide, fundamentally reshaping how companies handle our most personal information.

For now, Californians are leading the way in proving that taking back your privacy doesn't require a computer science degree—just a few minutes and the knowledge that your data belongs to you.