A free tool files data-broker opt-outs paid apps charge for

A new open-source tool automates the same data-broker opt-out requests that several subscription apps charge monthly fees for. remove-your-data submits removal requests to people-search sites through their own first-party opt-out forms, plus California's DROP program. It keeps a SQLite log of what it filed and when, then generates a report you view on localhost. The record stays on your machine, not a vendor's server.

The README makes the case directly. Paid deletion services mostly file the same forms this tool files for free. Then they bill you again next month because brokers re-scrape your data and the listings come back.

The license closes off the obvious countermove. It's AGPL-3.0-or-later with the network-service clause. That means a company can't fork the code, host it as a service, and charge without releasing changes back to the public. It blocks anyone from re-wrapping the project as the subscription it was built to undercut.

The README doesn't say how many sites its opt-out forms cover. It also doesn't say how the tool handles a broker that changes its form and breaks the automation. Opt-out coverage decays as sites redesign their pages, so a tool like this needs upkeep to keep working. Whether an unpaid project can keep up with that as well as a paid service with support staff is an open question.