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A company that aggregates and sells personal information compiled from public and commercial sources.
Data brokers collect public records, purchases, and online activity into detailed personal profiles and sell them. They are a rich source for background research — and a major privacy concern, since they expose home addresses, relatives, and contact details.
Most brokers offer opt-out processes, and removing yourself from the major ones sharply reduces what a casual investigation can find. Opt-outs must be repeated, because brokers re-list people over time.
Government and official records that are legally accessible to the public.
The total trail of data a person or organisation leaves across the internet.
Publishing someone's private information online, usually to harass or intimidate.
The practice of protecting an investigation and the investigator from exposure.