How data brokers get your phone number

California's privacy regulator defines a data broker as a business that gathers and sells consumer information that the consumer did not give it directly. Its list of what brokers collect includes email addresses and phone numbers, along with browsing history, precise location and shopping habits.

People-search sites are the type of data broker most people meet first. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explains that they compile information into reports and sell them to anyone willing to pay, and that a person who has just one piece of information about you, such as your phone number, can use it to buy a report with much more.

• Businesses you deal with. California's regulator says data brokers often collect information from businesses you interact with directly, such as retailers, apps and streaming services.
• Public social media profiles. The FTC says people-search sites collect information from social media profiles that are public or viewable by everyone.
• Public records. According to the FTC, people-search sites compile data from federal, state and local records, including property records, voter registration information and professional licences.
• Other data brokers. Brokers buy from each other. In the FTC's 2014 study of nine data brokers, seven had shared information with another broker in the same study.

The same FTC study found that brokers collect data from a wide range of online and offline sources, including purchase data, warranty registrations and magazine subscriptions, largely without consumers' knowledge. That is why most people cannot point to the moment their number was collected.

1. 1.Search your phone number and your name on the main people-search sites and note every listing.
2. 2.Opt out of each listing on the site's own opt-out page. The FTC notes that these sites let you opt out of sharing information such as your address or phone number.
3. 3.Set up Google's Results about you tool. Google says it may approve requests to remove search results that show your phone number.
4. 4.If you live in California, file a request on DROP. It is free, goes to every registered data broker, and brokers have been required to process requests since 1 August 2026.
5. 5.Remove your number from public profiles, and leave the phone field empty on new sign-ups when it is optional.

The National Do Not Call Registry is free and worth using, but it does a different job. The FTC describes it as a list that tells registered telemarketers which numbers not to call. It is designed to stop sales calls from real companies that follow the law. It does not block calls, does not stop scammers, and does not ask any broker to delete your number.

Removing a Google result does not remove the listing either. Google states that the information still exists on the source page.

Brokers refresh their data. Spokeo's opt-out page says that because it continually receives new records, information may reappear without notice. California's DROP is built for this: data brokers must access the platform at least once every 45 days. Elsewhere, the practical answer is to repeat your searches a few times a year.