What Is a Consumer Report, and When Are You Entitled to a Free Copy?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to free copies of far more than your credit report. Here is the list of consumer reports most people never request.
Privacy Guides
Evergreen explainers on data brokers, privacy law, and protecting your information.
Family Tree and Relative-Finder Sites: How They Expose People Who Never Signed Up
FamilyTreeNow and similar sites build public family maps from public records, exposing relatives, including children, who never signed up or consented to it.
Are Reverse Phone Lookup Sites the Same as Data Brokers?
Reverse phone lookup sites and people-search sites usually pull from the same underlying data, and in many cases they are run by the very same companies.
Do Data Brokers Affect Your Insurance Premiums?
Insurers buy from specialized risk-data brokers, not the people-search sites most consumers know, and what those brokers hold can directly affect what you pay.
Credit Freeze vs. Credit Lock vs. Fraud Alert: What’s the Difference?
All three restrict access to your credit file, but they differ in cost, legal protection, and how fast you can undo them. Here is which one fits your situation.
Data Brokers, Tenant Screening, and Your Rights as a Renter
Landlords use FCRA-regulated tenant screening reports, not casual broker searches. That distinction gives you real dispute rights when a report gets it wrong.
What Can Employers Legally See About You From Data Brokers?
Most people-search results cannot legally be used to make a hiring decision. A separate class of background check company can, and the difference protects you.
Are Genealogy and Ancestry Sites Data Brokers? What They Actually Do With Your Information
Ancestry, MyHeritage, and 23andMe are not classic data brokers, but they hold an unusually sensitive category of data. That difference matters for your rights.
Mugshot and Court Record Websites: Can You Actually Get Removed?
Mugshot sites republish arrest records, including dismissed and expunged ones. Removal is possible, but the process differs sharply from a standard opt-out.
Do Robocalls and Spam Calls Actually Come From Data Brokers?
The spam call surge after your number turns up somewhere new is no coincidence. Here is how a phone number travels from a data broker to a robocaller.
What Is Global Privacy Control (GPC) and How Do You Turn It On?
Global Privacy Control is a free browser setting that tells every site to stop selling your data, and several state laws now require companies to honor it.
Daniel’s Law and the Growing List of States Protecting Judges, Police, and Public Officials From Data Brokers
New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law gave address removal real enforcement teeth, and other states have followed. Here is who qualifies and what the protection covers.