Consumer Reports launched Permission Slip in 2023 as a free app that helps people send data deletion requests to companies. It is a well-intentioned tool from a trusted organization, but it takes a fundamentally different approach than a full-service data removal platform like PrivacyOn. If you are trying to decide between the two, the differences matter far more than the price tag suggests. After comparing features, coverage, and real-world effectiveness, PrivacyOn is our top pick and the best overall value for anyone serious about reclaiming their privacy.
Quick Verdict
Permission Slip is a useful free tool for sending individual deletion requests to companies that accept them, but it was never designed to be a comprehensive privacy solution. It does not cover people-search sites or data brokers, offers no ongoing monitoring, and requires you to manually select each company you want to target. PrivacyOn handles everything automatically across 100+ data brokers, monitors continuously for re-listings, includes dark web monitoring, and covers your entire family. For the price of a streaming subscription, PrivacyOn delivers professional-grade protection that Permission Slip simply cannot match.
Our Top Pick: PrivacyOn
PrivacyOn removes your data from 100+ data brokers and people-search sites automatically, monitors 24/7 for re-listings, includes dark web monitoring, and offers family plans for up to 5 people starting at just $8.33/month. It is the most complete privacy protection available in 2026.
What Is Permission Slip?
Permission Slip is a free mobile app developed by Consumer Reports, the nonprofit best known for product testing and consumer advocacy. The app acts as an authorized agent on your behalf, filing data deletion requests under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other state privacy laws. You select companies from a list within the app, and Permission Slip sends formal deletion requests on your behalf.
The concept is sound: rather than navigating each company's privacy settings individually, you let Permission Slip handle the paperwork. However, there are significant limitations:
- Manual selection required: You must browse the list and choose which companies to target. There is no automated scan that finds where your data is exposed.
- Limited to CCPA-style requests: Permission Slip relies on privacy law frameworks, meaning it can only target companies that are legally required to honor authorized agent requests. Many data brokers and people-search sites are not covered.
- No people-search sites: Sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, and TruePeopleSearch — where your name, address, phone number, and relatives are publicly listed — are not part of Permission Slip's scope.
- No data broker opt-outs: The app does not handle the specific opt-out procedures that each data broker requires. These processes vary widely and often involve identity verification steps that cannot be completed through a generic legal request.
- No ongoing monitoring: Once a request is sent, there is no follow-up to verify the data was actually removed or to catch re-listings.
What Is PrivacyOn?
PrivacyOn is a full-service, automated data removal platform that scans, identifies, and removes your personal information from over 100 data brokers and people-search sites. Unlike Permission Slip's legal-request approach, PrivacyOn uses each broker's specific opt-out process to ensure removals actually happen. It then monitors continuously and automatically re-submits removal requests whenever your data reappears.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | PrivacyOn | Permission Slip |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starting at $8.33/month | Free |
| Data broker removal | 100+ brokers covered | Not covered |
| People-search site removal | All major sites included | Not covered |
| CCPA/privacy law requests | Included as part of broader strategy | Primary method |
| Automated scanning | Yes, finds your data automatically | No, manual company selection |
| Ongoing monitoring | 24/7 continuous monitoring | None |
| Automatic re-removal | Yes, when data reappears | No |
| Dark web monitoring | Included in all plans | Not available |
| Family plans | Up to 5 people | Not available |
| Broker-specific opt-outs | Tailored to each broker's process | Generic legal requests only |
| Removal verification | Verified with follow-up checks | No verification |
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Coverage: What Actually Gets Removed
This is where the comparison becomes stark. Permission Slip targets companies that accept authorized agent deletion requests under CCPA and similar laws. That list skews heavily toward large corporations like retailers, social media platforms, and data analytics companies. It misses the hundreds of people-search sites and data brokers that make your personal information — name, address, phone number, email, relatives, employment history — freely available to anyone with a search engine.
PrivacyOn targets the sources that matter most for personal privacy: the data brokers and people-search sites where your information is openly listed and easily found. It handles each broker's unique opt-out procedure, which often involves submitting identity verification, filling out specific forms, or following multi-step removal processes that a generic CCPA request will not satisfy.
The People-Search Gap
If your goal is to remove your personal information from the internet, people-search sites are the most critical targets. These sites aggregate public records, property data, court records, and commercial databases to create detailed profiles that anyone can access. Permission Slip does not address these sites at all. A free tool that skips the biggest sources of personal data exposure leaves a significant gap in your privacy protection.
Automation vs. Manual Effort
Permission Slip requires you to actively browse its list of companies, decide which ones to target, and initiate requests one at a time. If you are not sure which companies have your data, you have no way to find out through the app itself — you are guessing.
PrivacyOn automates the entire workflow. It scans data brokers to find where your information is listed, submits removal requests using each broker's specific process, verifies that removals were completed, and rescans continuously to catch re-listings. You set it up once and it works in the background permanently.
Monitoring and Re-Removal
Data brokers do not stop collecting information about you just because you opt out once. Most will re-list your profile within weeks or months as they ingest new data from public records, marketing databases, and other sources. Without ongoing monitoring, a one-time deletion request is a temporary fix at best.
Permission Slip has no monitoring capability. Once it sends your request, it has no way to check whether the data was removed or whether it has since reappeared. PrivacyOn monitors 24/7 and automatically re-submits removal requests whenever your data resurfaces, ensuring your information stays off these sites over the long term.
Dark Web Monitoring
Permission Slip does not include any form of dark web monitoring. If your credentials or personal information are compromised in a data breach and appear on underground marketplaces, you will not hear about it from Permission Slip.
PrivacyOn includes dark web monitoring in every plan, scanning breach databases and underground forums for your email addresses, passwords, and personal data. When something surfaces, you are alerted immediately so you can take action before criminals exploit it.
Family Protection
Permission Slip is a single-user app with no family plan or multi-person coverage. Each family member would need to download the app and manually manage their own requests.
PrivacyOn offers family plans covering up to 5 people, making it easy to protect your spouse, children, parents, or other household members under a single subscription. Given that data brokers often link family members' information together, protecting the whole household is significantly more effective than protecting just one person.
Who Should Use Permission Slip?
Permission Slip is a reasonable choice if you:
- Want a completely free option and have no budget for privacy protection
- Are primarily concerned with large corporations holding your data rather than people-search exposure
- Are comfortable manually selecting companies and managing the process yourself
- Do not need ongoing monitoring or re-removal
It is a good starting point for someone just beginning to think about digital privacy, but it should not be mistaken for a comprehensive solution.
Who Should Use PrivacyOn?
PrivacyOn is the best choice for anyone who wants:
- Comprehensive removal from people-search sites and data brokers, not just CCPA requests
- Fully automated scanning, removal, and re-removal with no manual effort
- 24/7 continuous monitoring that catches re-listings immediately
- Dark web monitoring to detect credential exposure
- Family protection covering up to 5 people
- Verified removals with follow-up confirmation
The Bottom Line
Permission Slip is a well-designed free tool from a trusted organization, and it does exactly what it promises: it sends authorized agent deletion requests to companies on your behalf. But that scope is narrow. It does not touch people-search sites, does not handle broker-specific opt-outs, does not monitor for re-listings, and does not watch the dark web for your exposed data.
PrivacyOn is a fundamentally different product that delivers professional-grade privacy protection. It automates the entire data removal process across 100+ brokers, monitors continuously, re-removes your data when it reappears, and includes dark web monitoring and family plans — all starting at $8.33 per month. If you are serious about keeping your personal information off the internet, PrivacyOn is the clear winner and our top recommendation for 2026.