Data Brokers Explained: Who Is Selling Your Phone Number?

You finish signing up for a discount code or browsing for car insurance, and suddenly your phone won’t stop ringing. It’s a spam call, then a text from a number you don’t recognize. It feels random, but it rarely is. There is an entire industry dedicated to making this happen, run by companies called data brokers.

These businesses exist for one reason: to gather, bundle, and sell information about you. They aren’t the brands you shop with or the social networks you use every day. They work quietly in the background, pulling together scraps of data from public records, buying lists from other businesses, and watching online activity to build profiles on nearly everyone.

Where the Data Comes From

Data brokers are surprisingly good at finding information. They pull from sources most people don’t think twice about. Public government records are a major starting point, offering up details like your full name, current address, and even marriage licenses.

But the real treasure trove is the digital footprint we all create. When you agree to website cookies, fill out a survey, or download a free app that wants access to your contact list, you are often feeding their systems. Once a broker has your phone number, they can link it to other details, like your estimated income, age, or buying preferences, to create a “profile” that is valuable to advertisers, loan officers, and sometimes, people with bad intentions.

What You Can Do About It

Knowing that strangers are trading your personal details for cash is frustrating. The good news is that you have options. You generally have the right to demand that these companies scrub your information from their files. The problem? There are hundreds of these brokers, and chasing them down individually is a massive headache.

This is why many people turn to automated removal services. These tools handle the heavy lifting, sending out legal requests to dozens of brokers at once and checking back to make sure the data is actually deleted. If you aren’t sure where to start, the security researchers at Cybernews offer a helpful breakdown of Incogni vs Cloaked so you can see which service might work best for your situation.

Why Privacy Is Worth the Effort

Getting your number off these lists does more than just stop annoying robocalls. It is a major step toward protecting your identity. When your phone number and home address are sitting in unregulated databases, you are much more vulnerable to phishing attempts and identity theft.

Being careful about where you type your phone number is a great first step. Combining that with an active effort to remove your existing data makes it much harder for scammers and marketers to target you. It takes a bit of work to get the ball rolling, but keeping your private life actually private is worth the trouble. In a world where personal information is treated like currency, taking control of your own data is one of the smartest investments you can make. You deserve to decide who gets access to your life, rather than letting a hidden industry decide for you.