Protect Your Privacy with California's DROP Tool
Are you a California resident? Then we've got exciting news for you: there's a tool just for you that lets you take a single, relatively easy step to protect your privacy. It's called a DROP request. (That's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, if you're fancy). This one bit of paperwork lets you tell every data broker registered in the state of California that you'd like them to delete your…
California residents now have a new tool called DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform) to protect their privacy. This tool allows residents to send a single request to all data brokers registered in the state, asking them to delete their personal information and stop selling it.
DROP officially launched on January 1st, but companies have until August 1st to start complying with these requests. Once a request is made, data brokers have 45 days to address it. The tool was created in response to the Delete Act, which grants Californians the right to request deletion of their personal information and opt-out of having businesses sell it.
Filing a request can help decrease spam messages, improve cybersecurity, and give individuals more control over their personal data. However, some information, such as vehicle or real estate ownership, is considered public record and cannot be deleted. To file a request, visit the California Privacy Protection Agency's DROP website and gather necessary information before beginning the process.
Written by urgent.news from EFF Deeplinks's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
