California quietly launched a state-run website that lets residents block hundreds of data brokers at once. We tested it. Here is what it actually removes -- and what it misses. The Tool California's new data broker opt-out portal (launched January 2026) allows residents to submit a single request that propagates to hundreds of state-registered data brokers. The process: Verify California residency (driver's license or utility bill) Select categories of data to suppress Submit the unified opt-out request Brokers have 45 days to comply What We Found What it covers: State-registered data brokers (approximately 480 as of March 2026) Basic personal information: name, address, phone, email Some financial and demographic data sold for marketing purposes What it misses: Offshore brokers operating outside California jurisdiction Brokers who failed to register (volume unknown) Data already sold to downstream partners Broker-derived inferences and algorithmic profiles Broker data sold to government agencies (exempt from consumer opt-out) The Scale of the Problem A Congressional investigation found data broker breaches cost Americans $20 billion in identity theft annually. Data brokers deliberately bury opt-out pages from search engines, making self-service removal nearly impossible without tools like California's portal. But the portal is not a complete solution. It is a starting point. What to Do Use the California portal if you are a resident Use our Data Broker Opt-Out tool for brokers not covered Monitor for reappearance of your data every 6 months Consider services like DeleteMe for ongoing removal maintenance Use our Data Broker Opt-Out tool to remove your information from broker databases.