The answer to “what information do data brokers have about me?” is almost certainly more than you’d expect. We’re not talking about just your name and phone number. Data brokers maintain profiles containing dozens of data points about you — everything from your home address to your estimated income to your political leanings.
This guide breaks down every category of information data brokers collect, where they get it, and what they do with it.
See your profile right now: Run a free Optery scan to see which data broker sites have your information and what they’re showing about you.
The Complete List of What Data Brokers Collect
Here’s what data brokers have on the average American:
Basic Identity Information
- Full legal name and aliases
- Date of birth and age
- Gender
- Social Security number (not publicly displayed, but used in behind-the-scenes data matching)
Contact Information
- Current home address
- Past addresses (often going back decades)
- Phone numbers — landline and cell
- Email addresses — current and past
Family and Household
- Spouse/partner name
- Children’s names
- Parents’ names
- Siblings’ names
- Roommates and associates
- Household size
- Marital status
Financial Information
- Estimated income range
- Net worth estimates
- Credit score range
- Bankruptcy filings
- Tax liens
- Property ownership and estimated home value
- Mortgage information
- Investment interests
Employment and Education
- Current employer
- Job title
- Past employers
- Industry
- Professional licenses
- Education level
- Schools attended
Legal and Court Records
- Criminal records — arrests, convictions
- Civil court cases
- Traffic violations
- Judgments and liens
- Divorce records
- Restraining orders (in some databases)
- Sex offender registry status
Property and Vehicle Records
- Properties owned — current and past
- Property values and tax assessments
- Vehicles owned — make, model, year
- Vehicle registration
Online Activity and Interests
- Social media profiles
- Browsing behavior and website visits
- Purchase history and shopping preferences
- App usage
- Search history (via data partnerships)
- Content preferences — topics you read about, videos you watch
Demographic and Lifestyle Data
- Race/ethnicity
- Religion
- Political party affiliation and voter registration
- Hobbies and interests
- Health interests (e.g., searching for diabetes information)
- Charitable donations
- Pet ownership
- Travel preferences
Location and Behavioral Data
- GPS location history from mobile devices
- Places visited — stores, restaurants, doctors’ offices
- Commute patterns
- Travel history
Not every data broker has all of this information about you. But collectively, across the 4,000+ data brokers operating in the US, virtually all of these data points exist about most American adults.
Where Data Brokers Get This Information
You never gave most of this information to data brokers directly. Here’s where it comes from:
Public records. Property deeds, voter registration, court filings, marriage/divorce records, business registrations, vehicle registrations, professional licenses — all public, all scraped automatically. Some states make more records public than others.
Other data brokers. Data brokers buy and sell from each other. Your information enters one database and multiplies across hundreds through inter-broker transactions.
Social media. Your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other profiles provide your name, location, employer, photos, interests, and connections — even with privacy settings, through data partnerships and scraping.
Online activity. Cookies, tracking pixels, and browser fingerprinting capture your browsing behavior. Apps collect your location, contacts, and usage patterns. Retailers track your purchase history. All of this feeds data brokers through privacy policy-covered third-party data sharing.
Data breaches. When companies get hacked, leaked data eventually flows into broker databases — adding email addresses, passwords, and other details to your profile.
Loyalty programs and surveys. Loyalty cards, reward programs, product registrations, sweepstakes entries, and surveys all collect data that gets shared with brokers.
Government databases. Census data, DMV records, postal records (including change-of-address filings), and other government databases feed data brokers through legal access channels.
What Data Brokers Do with Your Information
Data brokers sell your information to multiple buyers for different purposes:
Advertisers and marketers. Your demographics, interests, and purchase history let advertisers target you with personalized ads. This is why ads seem to follow you.
People search sites. Consumer-facing people search sites like Whitepages and Spokeo display your data publicly for anyone to search.
Background check companies. Your data feeds the informal background checks that employers, landlords, and others conduct.
Insurance companies. Some insurers use data broker information to assess risk and set premiums.
Financial institutions. Banks and lenders use data broker profiles to supplement their own customer data.
Scammers and criminals. While data brokers don’t intentionally sell to criminals, the publicly accessible people search sites serve as free research tools for scam callers, phishing operators, identity thieves, and stalkers.
Political campaigns. Your voter registration, party affiliation, and demographic data let campaigns micro-target you with political messaging.
How to Check What Data Brokers Have on You
Want to see what data brokers have about you specifically? Here’s how:
Method 1: Free data broker scan (fastest). Optery’s free scan checks dozens of major data broker sites simultaneously and shows you exactly what’s listed about you. Takes 30 seconds. Full guide to checking your exposure →
Method 2: Check individual sites. Search your name on TruePeopleSearch (completely free) to see what a typical data broker profile looks like. The level of detail is usually alarming.
Method 3: Google yourself. Google your name in an incognito window. The data broker listings that appear in results show what anyone searching for you can find.
Method 4: Submit a data access request. If you’re in a state with privacy laws like the CCPA, you can formally request that data brokers tell you exactly what information they have about you. They must respond within 45 days.
How to Remove Your Information from Data Brokers
Once you see what data brokers have on you, here’s how to remove it:
Optery — Our top recommendation. Free scan to see your exposure. Paid plans ($39-$249/year) automate removal from 350+ data broker sites with continuous monitoring that catches re-listings. Read our full Optery review →
Incogni — Best budget option. Covers 180+ data brokers for $6.49/month billed annually. Read our full Incogni review →
Or remove yourself manually from individual sites: How to Opt Out of Data Brokers (Complete Guide).
Take Back Your Information
Data brokers have built comprehensive profiles about you without your consent. They know where you live, who your family is, what you earn, what you buy, and what you’re interested in — and they sell that information to anyone willing to pay.
- Run a free Optery scan — see what data brokers currently show about you
- Remove your data using Optery or Incogni
- Freeze your credit to prevent financial fraud from your exposed data
- Reduce future exposure — Google Voice, secondary email, locked-down social media
Your personal information is your property. Start acting like it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do data brokers have my Social Security number?
Some behind-the-scenes data brokers use SSNs for identity matching purposes, but legitimate people search sites don’t publicly display them. However, if your SSN has been in a data breach, it may be on the dark web alongside your data broker profile information.
How many data brokers have my information?
The average American is listed on 200-600+ data broker and people search sites. Run a free Optery scan to see your specific count.
Can data brokers have my health information?
Data brokers typically don’t have your actual medical records (those are protected by HIPAA). But they can infer health interests from your browsing behavior, app usage, and purchase history — for example, searches for diabetes medication or purchases from health-related retailers.
Do data brokers know my income?
They estimate it. Data brokers use property records, neighborhood data, job title, employer, and other signals to estimate your income range. These estimates aren’t always accurate but are often close enough to be useful for targeting.
Can I find out exactly what a specific data broker has about me?
If you’re in a state with privacy laws like the CCPA, you can submit a “right to know” request to any data broker. They must tell you what data they have about you, where they got it, and who they’ve shared it with — within 45 days.
Why do data brokers have information about my children?
Data broker profiles list family members, including children’s names, as “associates” connected to your profile. This data comes from public records, social media, and other sources that link family members together.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for details.