California's New DROP Platform: One Request, Hundreds of Data Brokers

Data brokers are companies that collect and sell information about people they have never met — your address, your date of birth, your buying habits, and often a great deal more. More than 600 of them are registered in California. Until this year, getting your information out of their databases meant contacting each one individually.

One note on scope: Integrity Wealth Partners serves families across the country and overseas, and this particular tool is open only to California residents. If you live elsewhere, the background below still applies — the data-broker market works the same way in every state — but the process is for our California-based clients.

What Is DROP?

The Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) is a free service operated by the California Privacy Protection Agency under the California Delete Act. A single verified request reaches every registered data broker in the state, instructing them to delete the personal information they hold about you and stop selling or sharing it.

The platform opened to consumers in January. As of August 1, 2026, brokers are legally required to act on those requests — and to keep checking for new ones every 45 days.

Less of your information in circulation means fewer unwanted calls and solicitations, and, more importantly, less raw material for identity theft and impersonation scams. The detail that makes a fraudulent phone call convincing is almost always purchased, not guessed.

How to Participate

Takes about ten minutes, at no cost, at privacy.ca.gov/drop:

1. Verify your eligibility. Confirm your California residency through the state's secure identity verification process.
2. Create your profile. Provide basic identifying information — name, address, email, phone, date of birth. You choose how much to share, though more information makes it likelier that brokers can find and delete your records.
3. Submit your request. One submission reaches every registered broker.

You may also submit on behalf of another California resident in certain circumstances — a minor child, for example, or an elderly parent for whom you have authority.

What to Expect

Brokers have 90 days to process a request, and you can check each one's status in the platform afterward.

Some information stays put by design: public records, credit-file information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, health information under HIPAA, and financial information governed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. In practical terms, a DROP request will not disturb your accounts, your credit file, or your relationship with Integrity Wealth Partners or your custodian. It removes the secondary market, not the record.

It is also not a permanent fix. Companies you deal with directly keep the information you gave them directly, and new data accumulates over time.

Protecting More Than Your Financial Assets

We believe good stewardship extends beyond managing our clients' investments. Protecting your personal information is also critically important, and we continually look for practical ways to help our clients reduce unnecessary exposure and protect their privacy.

DROP is one more tool our California clients can consider as part of that effort. While participation is entirely optional, we believe our clients should be aware when meaningful new resources become available to help protect their personal information—and we will continue to bring those opportunities to your attention.

This article is provided by Integrity Wealth Partners for informational purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice. DROP is administered by the California Privacy Protection Agency and is available only to California residents; full details are available at privacy.ca.gov/drop.