While they make a few valid points, this does seem mostly like a butt hurt hit piece directed back at consumer reports. If anything, it proves that there is a need to automate this via a script of some sorts, and make middle man like them obsolete.
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Its one of those things where the people working on it would have to both be smart enough to do it and be more interested in the good it does than any money it can bring
Maybe it is too optimistic of me, but I think that someone like EasyOptOuts (Iâm just using them as an example, not suggesting they specifically do this) could release their automations as an open-source tool, and there would still be enough interest from a lot of people in a paid SaaS product where they pay $20/year or whatever to not self-host it.
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hi, allâI worked on this report and wanted to answer some questions.
How many profiles total did each person have reported by each service
This ranged from 10 to 13.
Why did they not check back to see if the users had new profiles after their initial removal? Seems like a glaring black hole in the methodology.
Honestly, we had time and budget constraints, but the other reason is the one mentioned in the reportâwhile profiles do re-proliferate, for the most part weâve noticed that these remain deleted in the time frame we looked at.
Did any of the services they used have legitimate ties to data brokers/people search site? That would be very useful before I decide to use one of these sites
Not any of the ones we tested. We mentioned other ties in the report on pages 12-13.
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there was a tool on GitHub which would handle this, which went abandoned. Itâd be nice if someone released an open-source tool
Hey! I couldnât help but notice that there was a possible open source alternative to removing oneâs data. Do you have the link to the repository by any chance?
Would you guys be open to publishing your own independent report on data removal services? Consumer Reports released a data removal tool, Permission Slip. So theyâre not independent anymore. Last year you tested EasyOptOuts but it was a very small study and didnât include other data removal services or manual opt-outs. Due to cost-constraints, I think any vendor that wants to be included will have to pay. Think something like AV-Comparatives. Of course youâll have to wait until California DROP becomes activated in Aug 2026.
NYT/Wirecutter is conducting a year-long study on data removal services. âIn March 2025 we recruited Wirecutter staffers to embark on a year-long journey to test each one long-term.â But they already made a staff pick before the study ended. I think a report from you guys will carry more weight/credibility.