How data brokers work

Yes. Right now. Your full name, phone number, home address, email, age, and sometimes even your relatives' names are listed on over a dozen "people search" websites — for anyone with a credit card to buy. We currently cover 18 sites, and more are coming online regularly. We adapt to the market.

These sites are called data brokers. They scrape public records, social media, purchase histories, and other databases, then package it all up and sell access. It's a multi-billion dollar industry.

Ever wonder why that app is free? Why that social network doesn't charge you? Because you're not the customer. You're the product. Your data is what's being sold.

Yep. Data brokers are the supply chain for robocalls, spam texts, and junk mail. Telemarketers, scammers, and "lead generation" companies buy your contact info in bulk from these sites.

You didn't give them your number. You didn't sign up for anything. Someone sold it.

Removing yourself from data broker sites cuts off the supply. Fewer places your number is listed = fewer people buying it = fewer calls at dinner.

They are. And they're only getting worse as elections ramp up.

Here's the part nobody tells you: political calls and texts are legally exempt from the Do Not Call Registry. Campaigns, PACs, "concerned citizens" groups — they can all contact you regardless of the list. The Do Not Call Registry does nothing for political spam.

They get your number the same way everyone else does — from data brokers. Your voter registration is public record (name, address, party), but your phone number isn't in the voter file. Campaigns buy it from data brokers who match your name to your number.

Remove your number from those brokers and you break the link. They can still see your name on the voter roll, but they can't text you if they can't find your number. That's what Unlisted does.

Honest answer: you'll notice a drop in 2-4 weeks. The full effect takes 2-3 months.

Here's why it's not instant. Your phone number is already on lists that scammers and telemarketers bought before we removed you. Those lists get used until they're exhausted. We can't un-buy a list that's already been sold.

What happens over time: Week 1-2, your listings come down from broker sites. Week 2-4, new buyers can't find your number anymore — the pipeline of fresh lists dries up. Month 2-3, the old lists age out. Scammers cycle through them and move on. The calls slow to a trickle.

With annual protection, we re-scan every month and catch re-listings before new lists get built. The effect compounds over time — each month is quieter than the last.

What you can do to help: Don't answer calls from numbers you don't recognize. Don't press any buttons or say "yes" on a robocall — that confirms your number is active and gets you added to more lists. If an unknown number is important, they'll leave a voicemail. Register with the National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov) — it won't stop scammers, because well, they're scammers. But it stops legitimate telemarketers, which is still worth 30 seconds. And when apps ask for your phone number, think about whether they actually need it.

Three things:

1. Scan — We check 18+ data broker sites for your personal info. Takes about 2 minutes. You get screenshots proving what we found.

2. Remove — For brokers with opt-out forms, we submit them automatically. For brokers that require formal requests, we send legal deletion demands citing your state's privacy law.

3. Prove — We show you before-and-after screenshots and give you direct links so you can verify everything yourself. No trust required.

Free scan — see who has your data. Always free.

$0.99 — we remove you from every broker that has you. One-time charge. Not a subscription. You will not be charged again.

$9.99/year — we re-scan every month and remove you automatically all year. That's less than a dollar a month.

$19.99/year for your whole family (up to 5 people). One dashboard, one bill, everyone protected.

Yes. Our household plan covers up to 5 people — you plus 4 family members — for $19.99/year. One dashboard, one bill, you manage everything. Add your spouse, your kids, your parents. We scan everyone, remove everyone, and send you proof.

This is a big one. If your children are under 13, federal COPPA law makes it illegal to collect or sell their personal information without your consent. We cite COPPA in every deletion demand we send for your kids — and brokers know the penalties start at $50,000 per violation. Your kids' data gets our highest priority.

No. You manage everything from your account. No separate logins, no magic links to chase down, no herding cats. You add your family members' names and ages, and we handle the rest.

Absolutely. We even show you how — every email includes direct links to the broker's opt-out page and step-by-step instructions.

But there are 18+ brokers, each with a different process. Some need you to fill a form. Some need you to verify by phone. Some require a formal written request. Some require you to upload a photo ID. One makes you call a phone number.

And you have to do it again every month or two when they re-list you.

Or you could pay three cups of coffee a year and we handle all of it.

Because data brokers re-list you. It's how they make money.

You get removed from Spokeo today. In 30-60 days, they scrape a new database, and you're back. It's like mowing the lawn — the grass doesn't care that you cut it last month.

That's why we offer annual protection ($9.99/year). We re-scan every month, catch re-listings, and remove you again. Automatically. Forever.

Most of this data comes from public records — voter registration, property records, court filings, business licenses. Data brokers argue they're just aggregating publicly available information.

The difference is that your county courthouse doesn't package your home address with your phone number, email, age, and a satellite photo of your house, then sell it for $2.95 to anyone who asks.

Several states have passed privacy laws (California's CCPA, Virginia's CDPA, Colorado's CPA, and others) that give you the right to demand deletion. That's what Unlisted does — we exercise those rights on your behalf.

You know the ones. They sponsor every podcast, buy every Google ad, and charge $129 to $249 per year for the same thing we do for $9.99.

Those services spend more on podcast ads than they spend on actually removing your data. That marketing budget is why their price is 10-25x ours. You are not paying for better technology. You are paying for the ad you heard on your morning commute.

Unlisted does the same thing: scan data broker sites, submit removal requests, send legal deletion demands, prove it worked with screenshots, and re-scan every month. The difference is we automated the expensive parts instead of hiring a sales team.

We also do something none of them do: we show you the proof. Every scan comes with screenshots and direct links so you can verify the removal yourself. We do not ask you to trust a dashboard that says "removed" — we show you the receipts.

Free scan. $0.99 for a one-time clean. $9.99 per year for monthly re-scans. The other guys charge you ten times that.

Because we built the technology to automate what would otherwise take you hours of manual work every month — scanning over a dozen sites, filling out different forms, sending legal requests, tracking responses.

Other services in this space charge $10-15 per month. We think everyone should be able to afford basic privacy, not just people who can drop $150 a year on it. $9.99/year puts it within reach for everyone.

Only what we need to search for you: your name, city, state, phone, and email. That's it.

No street addresses. No Social Security numbers. No payment info (Stripe handles that). No tracking pixels. No analytics scripts. No cookies except your login session.

We will never sell, share, or use your data for anything other than removing it from broker sites. That would make us the thing we're fighting.

You can delete everything with one click, anytime. We delete your data, your scan history, and your screenshots. Gone.

You shouldn't have to. That's the point.

Every scan comes with screenshots and direct links. You can verify every result yourself. We don't ask you to take our word for it — we show you the proof and let you check.

We're also the only service that gives you step-by-step instructions to do it yourself, in every single email. If you'd rather DIY, go for it. We'll even help.

We store the bare minimum: your name, city, state, phone number, and email. That's it. No street addresses. No Social Security numbers. No payment details (Stripe handles all of that).

We don't run tracking pixels, analytics scripts, or third-party cookies. Your login session is the only cookie we set, and the token is hashed with SHA-256 before it touches the database.

Screenshots from your scans are stored in encrypted cloud storage. Every link expires after 7 days. We don't keep permanent copies.

We will never sell, share, or monetize your data. If you want out, one click deletes everything — your account, your scan history, your screenshots. Immediately and permanently.

One thing.

Next time someone you know complains about spam calls or weird texts — a friend, a coworker, your mom — just tell them how you fixed it. That is it.

We do not have a podcast ad budget. We do not have a marketing team. The only way people find out about Unlisted is if someone who used it tells someone who needs it.

Take back your time. Focus on what is actually important — real life — and leave the hassle to us. If this works for you, pass it on. That is all we ask.