California residents can use new tool to demand brokers delete their personal data

California is giving residents a new tool that should make it easier for them to limit data brokers’ ability to store and sell their personal information.

While state residents have had the right to demand that a company stop collecting and selling their data since 2020, doing so required a laborious process of opting out with each individual company. The Delete Act, passed in 2023, was supposed to simplify things, allowing residents to make a single request that more than 500 registered data brokers delete their information.

Now the Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) actually gives residents the ability to make that request. Once DROP users verify that they are California residents, they can submit a deletion request that will go to all current and future data brokers registered with the state.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that all your data will be deleted immediately. Brokers are supposed to start processing requests in August 2026, then they have 90 days to actually process requests and report back. If they don’t delete your data, you’ll have the option to submit additional information that may help them locate your records.

Companies will also be able to keep first-party data that they’ve collected from users. It’s only brokers who seek to buy or sell that data — which can include your social security number, browsing history, email address, phone number, and more — who will be required to delete it.

Some information, such vehicle registration and voter records, is exempt from deletion because it comes from public documents. Other information, such as sensitive medical information, may be covered under other laws like HIPAA.

The California Privacy Protection Agency says that in addition to giving residents more control over their data, the tool could result in fewer “unwanted texts, calls, or emails” and also decrease the “risk of identity theft, fraud, AI impersonations, or that your data is leaked or hacked.”

The penalty for data brokers who fail to register or fail to delete requested consumer data is $200 per day, plus enforcement costs, according to the agency.