How to Opt Out of Data Brokers in New Jersey

New Jersey residents have powerful tools to fight back against data brokers. The New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJDPA), signed into law on January 16, 2024, and effective since January 15, 2025, gives you the right to opt out of data sales, request deletion of your personal information, and demand that businesses respond within just 15 days. New Jersey also requires data brokers to register with the state and disclose their opt-out procedures. Here is how to use these protections to remove your information from data brokers.

What the New Jersey Data Privacy Act Covers

The NJDPA applies to businesses that operate in New Jersey or target New Jersey residents and meet one of two thresholds: they control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 consumers during a calendar year, or they process the data of at least 25,000 consumers and derive revenue from the sale of personal data.

The law grants New Jersey residents several core rights:

• Right to access and correct — Confirm whether a business is processing your personal data, obtain a copy, and fix inaccuracies.
• Right to delete — Request that a business delete all personal data it collected from or about you.
• Right to opt out of data sales — Stop businesses from selling your personal data to third parties.
• Right to opt out of targeted advertising — Prevent businesses from using your data to serve you targeted ads.
• Right to opt out of profiling — Stop businesses from profiling you in ways that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

For data broker removal, the right to opt out of data sales and the right to delete are your most important tools. A key advantage of the NJDPA is its 15-day response requirement for opt-out requests, significantly faster than the 30- to 45-day windows in most other state privacy laws.

Step 1: Find Your Listings on Data Broker Sites

Start by identifying which data brokers have your information. Search for your full name on common people search and data broker sites:

• Spokeo
• BeenVerified
• WhitePages
• TruePeopleSearch
• PeopleFinders
• FastPeopleSearch
• Radaris
• Intelius
• Nuwber
• NJ Parcels (a New Jersey-specific property data site)

Also run a Google search for your full name in quotes along with your city, such as "John Smith" Newark NJ. Record every site where your personal information appears. You can also check the New Jersey data broker registry for a list of registered brokers and their opt-out procedures.

Step 2: Submit NJDPA Opt-Out and Deletion Requests

For each data broker you identified, submit a formal opt-out and deletion request. Most brokers provide an online mechanism, typically found under "Privacy," "Your Privacy Rights," or "Do Not Sell My Info" in the website footer.

Here are the general steps for common brokers:

1. Spokeo — Visit Spokeo's opt-out page, paste the URL of your profile, enter your email, and confirm via the verification email.
2. BeenVerified — Go to BeenVerified's opt-out page, search for your listing, select your profile, enter your email, and complete the CAPTCHA.
3. WhitePages — Visit the Whitepages suppression request page, find your listing, and verify your identity by phone.
4. TruePeopleSearch — Find your listing, click "Remove This Record," and confirm through email verification.
5. NJ Parcels — This New Jersey-specific property data site has its own opt-out page for removal requests.

If a broker does not offer a clear online form, email their privacy contact directly. State that you are a New Jersey resident exercising your rights under the NJDPA, request deletion of all personal data, request an opt-out from sales and targeted advertising, and include identifying details such as your full name, date of birth, and current and previous addresses.

Step 3: Use Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms

Since July 15, 2025, the NJDPA has required businesses to honor universal opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control (GPC). You can configure your browser to automatically send opt-out requests to every website you visit. GPC is built into the Brave browser and available as an extension for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari (via DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials).

While GPC helps prevent future data sales, it does not remove information that brokers already have. You still need to submit individual deletion requests for existing listings.

Step 4: Address New Jersey Public Records

Data brokers collect much of their information from publicly available records in New Jersey:

• Property records — County offices publish ownership records including names, addresses, and sale prices. Sites like NJ Parcels aggregate this data statewide.
• Voter registration — The NJ Division of Elections maintains voter rolls with name, address, and date of birth.
• Court records — The NJ Judiciary provides online access to case information through its eCourts system.
• Business filings — The Division of Revenue publishes business registration records that may include personal addresses.

New Jersey's Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) is available to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Participants receive a substitute address for use on public records, preventing data brokers from scraping their actual home address.

Step 5: Appeal Denied Requests and Use Authorized Agents

If a data broker denies your request, the NJDPA gives you the right to appeal. The broker must provide appeal instructions along with their denial and must respond within 45 days. If the appeal is also denied, file a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs at njconsumeraffairs.gov. Violations are treated under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act with penalties up to $10,000 for a first violation and $20,000 for subsequent violations.

The NJDPA also allows you to designate an authorized agent to submit opt-out requests on your behalf. This is useful if you want a family member, attorney, or privacy service to handle the process. The controller must comply as long as it can verify your identity and the agent's authority.

Step 6: Strengthen Your Overall Privacy

Data broker opt-outs work best when combined with broader privacy practices:

• Freeze your credit — Contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to prevent unauthorized credit inquiries.
• Lock down social media — Review privacy settings on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
• Use email aliases — Services like Apple's Hide My Email or SimpleLogin prevent your real email from being harvested by brokers.
• Minimize data sharing — Use a P.O. Box for mail, decline loyalty programs, and avoid providing your phone number at checkout.

The Easier Way: Let PrivacyOn Handle It

Manually submitting opt-out requests to over 100 data broker sites, monitoring for re-listings, and re-submitting removals is a process that never ends. PrivacyOn automates it for New Jersey residents. We submit NJDPA-backed removal requests to more than 100 data broker sites, continuously scan for re-listings, and provide dark web monitoring to alert you if your personal data appears in breach databases.

Because the NJDPA explicitly allows authorized agents to submit opt-out requests on your behalf, PrivacyOn operates with full legal authority when removing your data. The law's fast 15-day response requirement means brokers must act quickly. Plans start at just $8.33/month and cover up to 5 family members.

Take Control of Your Data

With its 15-day opt-out window, mandatory data broker registry, universal opt-out signal requirement, and authorized agent provisions, the NJDPA is one of the most consumer-friendly privacy laws in the country. Whether you handle opt-outs yourself or use PrivacyOn to automate the process, the law gives you strong legal backing to demand that data brokers stop profiting from your personal information.