What are some data erase service(s) that you guys recommend?

While there might be some benefit, most of them are snakeoil. Effectively they're just sending polite emails to "people search" websites to remove you from search results. The real, very harmful, data brokers are background check systems (LexisNexis), credit bureaus (Equifax), and insurance industry registries, which there is effectively no way to opt-out short of faking your death.

	▲	Cider9986 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Harm depends on your threat model. For a streamer wanting to avoid being swatted then the typical data broker removal service could be quite helpful. I agree a big part of the problem is lack of understanding that the removal services only work at one layer. There's probably even more than these, but here are some from the video: Healthcare data brokers, fraud data brokers, financial data brokers, marketing data brokers, people search data brokers. Good video explaining the situation with data brokers and the removal services: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX3JT6q3AxA

▲

Cider9986 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Manually opting out is probably the most effective, but obviously it's manual. Privacy guides recommends EasyOptOuts as the only paid service and manual and Google's tool for free methods.

https://www.privacyguides.org/en/data-broker-removals

▲

pimterry 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Never used them, but I ran into https://incogni.com/ yesterday.

It's a paid service, they track data brokers datasets (I assume they just act as a buyer for as many as they can) and then manually request your removal from all of them, and then aggressively follow up and chase it for you. Interesting business model, even if it's annoying that the world means you need it.

	▲	IAmBroom 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		You should precede those verbs with "they claim that they". "Aggressively follow up" is a completely meaningless phrase. It could just mean they put an "angry face" emoji in their email. You might disagree, but courts would likely judge it an irrelevant phrase. In short: there's No Way to scrub yourself off the web, and no one who wants to abuse information that should remain private will ever respect a take-down request, without the menace of fines and prison.

▲

diebillionaires 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Opt outs don't even exist at the top level, only on the people search ones utilizing the data.

▲

frankharv 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Surely you are joking.

Once collected why would a data broker want to purge your record?

There is no escape.

▲

morkalork 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Residents of California have the right to opt out, no?

	▲	runako 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		In theory, they also don't get spam calls.
	▲	frankharv 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Opt out from snake oil salesmen. Yea sure. If it helps you sleep better. It is the law. In reality the data is already 'grey market' so I doubt the law matters to them. Disappear and new data broker sets up shop. You think these people are regulated? I bet they swap datasets like Pokemon.

▲

kgwxd 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Just tell Siri "Erase all pictures of Ron!"