How it works
Withheld treats data brokers as data, not code: one engine runs declarative instructions for hundreds of brokers. Here is the whole process, in plain language.
1You create a protected profile
You enter the personal data you want erased — names, emails, phones, addresses, regions. It is encrypted at rest and never sold or shared.
2You sign a mandate
Brokers only act on requests from the person, or a documented agent. You sign a region-specific Letter of Authorization (GDPR representation, CCPA authorized agent, and equivalents). We generate a versioned PDF mandate as evidence.
3We discover the brokers — and keep the list fresh
We harvest brokers from official registers (the California Data Broker Registry, Vermont's register), the IAB Europe vendor list, regulator enforcement decisions and NGO research. A research pipeline fetches each broker's opt-out page and classifies how to opt out. Every broker is reviewed by a human before it goes live, and a health check keeps the instructions working.
4The engine sends erasure requests
For each broker the engine picks one of four methods — email, web form, API, or a guided manual step — and submits your request with the right legal basis for your region. Every action is logged with evidence (screenshots, sent emails, API responses).
5We track confirmations and never stop
Replies land on a unique address per request and are matched automatically. We re-check brokers on a schedule: if your data is gone it is marked verified-removed; if it reappears, we re-submit. reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile challenges on broker forms are solved automatically; ID checks and document uploads become a clear task for you.
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