While DeleteMe offers free guides to helping individuals submit removal requests to major data brokers by themselves, the sheer quantity of information and number of brokers makes it difficult for the average person to monitor their online presence, says Shavell. In fact, because sites like BlockShopper are getting their information from public records, and not buying it from commercial entities or acquiring it through advertisers, they are often the beneficiaries of carveouts in privacy laws in America, says Justin Sherman, a senior fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy who runs its data brokerage research project.