The holiday season sometimes gives us something we don’t have much of during the rest of the year: a few minutes of downtime.
If you find yourself with 5-10 minutes to spare, here’s one worthwhile digital housekeeping task California residents may want to tackle.
Earlier this year, California launched a tool called the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP). It gives residents a relatively simple way to ask hundreds of registered data brokers to delete their personal information through a single request.
Data brokers collect, combine and sell information about consumers. That information can include email addresses, phone numbers, browsing history, precise location, shopping habits, health-related information and even Social Security numbers.
Rather than trying to figure out which data brokers have your information and contacting them individually, DROP gives California residents one centralized place to make the request.
And it’s free.
What does DROP actually do?
DROP allows California residents to ask registered data brokers to:
- Delete personal information they have about you
- Stop selling your personal information
- Process your request through a single centralized system
DROP was created as part of California’s Delete Act and launched in January 2026. Data brokers began processing DROP requests in August 2026.
So while DROP has been around since the beginning of the year, plenty of Californians may still not know it exists.
How to submit your DROP request
Step 1: Go directly to California’s official DROP website
Start at the official California government site:
As with any website asking for personal information, make sure you’re on the legitimate privacy.ca.gov domain rather than a link from an advertisement, email or unfamiliar website.
Step 2: Verify that you’re a California resident
DROP is currently available to California residents.
The site uses the California Identity Gateway to verify residency. You don’t need to create a California Identity Gateway account. You can enter your information directly or use Login.gov if you already have an account.
If the system can’t verify you automatically, you can request a review of your eligibility.
Step 3: Create your deletion request
Next, you’ll provide information data brokers can use to locate your records.
At a minimum, you can submit a request with:
- Your name
- Date of birth
- ZIP code
You can also provide:
- Additional or previous names
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Mobile advertising IDs
- Connected TV IDs
- Vehicle identification numbers (VINs)
The last three are optional. You don’t need to track them down just to submit a request.
Step 4: Consider adding more than the minimum
You control how much information you provide, but different data brokers may have different pieces of information about you. The more identifying information you provide, the greater the likelihood that a data broker can successfully match you to its records and delete your information.
For example, if you’ve used multiple email addresses or phone numbers over the years, including them could help more brokers identify your records.
Step 5: Review everything and submit
Review the information you’ve entered and submit your deletion request.
DROP then distributes the request to registered data brokers rather than requiring you to track them down individually.
That’s the big advantage of the system.
Step 6: Save your DROP ID
This is easy to overlook.
After submitting the request, you’ll receive an 8-digit DROP ID. Save it somewhere secure because you’ll need it to check the status of your request later.
And don’t share it publicly.
Don’t expect everything to disappear overnight
Submitting the request starts the process. It doesn’t mean hundreds of databases are instantly updated.
Registered data brokers are required to access DROP at least once every 45 days to begin processing requests. It can take up to 90 days for status updates to appear in DROP.
Set a reminder to come back and check your status rather than assuming the request didn’t work.
You can update your information later
If you realize you forgot an old email address, phone number or another identifier, you don’t necessarily have to start over.
You can access your DROP profile and add more information. Updates are allowed once every 45 days.
Will DROP remove everything about you from the internet?
No.
DROP specifically addresses information maintained by registered data brokers. It doesn’t erase every account you’ve created or remove information held directly by every business you’ve dealt with.
For example, information you provided directly to a company when creating an account isn’t necessarily subject to deletion through DROP. However, if that information was subsequently purchased by a data broker, that copy may be covered.
That’s an important distinction.
Why KaufmanIT thinks this is worth doing
Cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls, antivirus software and strong passwords.
It’s also about reducing the amount of personal information available to people who shouldn’t have it.
Limiting the spread of your personal information through data brokers may help reduce unwanted texts, calls and emails while also reducing your exposure to identity theft and targeted fraud.
So if you have a little downtime over the holidays, consider adding this to your digital housekeeping list:
- Go to https://privacy.ca.gov/drop
- Verify your residency
- Provide the information you’re comfortable providing
- Submit the request
- Save your DROP ID securely
- Check your status later
It won’t remove every piece of personal information about you from the internet. But it’s free, takes only a few minutes and gives California residents a remarkably easy way to ask hundreds of data brokers to delete their information.
That’s not a bad use of a few quiet minutes over the holidays.
