AI can link public and commercial records with online disclosures, creating profiles that may outlive a deleted listing. Across most of the U.S., removal requests go company by company, while California residents can send one request to more than 600 registered brokers.
California’s Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform is the system; brokers began processing requests in August 2026 and must check it at least every 45 days. The U.S. has no comprehensive federal law giving every consumer the right to ask all data brokers to delete personal information, and state protections differ.
An All About Cookies survey of 1,000 U.S. adults in June 2026 found 92% felt at least some anxiety about personal information online, and more than two-thirds felt little or no control over it. The survey also found 62% had received a scam or phishing attempt using accurate personal details available online. Deleting a source file does not show whether derivative AI-training data still contains the information or a model can reproduce it.
