The Number Is Marketing
DeleteMe advertises 750+ sites. Incogni says 180+. Optery claims 350+. Those numbers exist for one reason: to make you feel like more is better. They are not a measure of protection. They are a sales tactic.
We target 21+ sites. Here is why that number is actually the stronger position.
What Those Lists Actually Contain
The inflated site counts include:
- Defunct brokers — sites that haven't processed an opt-out in years. Submitting a request gets you a green checkbox and zero real-world effect.
- Derivative aggregators — sites pulling from the same databases as the major brokers. Remove the source, the copies follow. Or they hold so little traffic nobody finds you there anyway.
- Sites they can't actually automate — counted in the total, buried in fine print as requiring "additional steps." Meaning you do it yourself.
The 200-site list is not a lie. It is just not a useful measure of protection.
The Sites People Actually Use to Find You
When someone searches your name — an employer, a date, a stalker, a skip tracer — they find you on Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, PeopleFinder, Intelius, MyLife, TruePeopleSearch, and FastPeopleSearch. These sites dominate the first page of Google. These are the sites background check companies and data-hungry apps pay to access. Your address, phone number, relatives, and income estimate — sold for as little as $1 per lookup.
Our 21+ are these sites. We built the list backwards from actual exposure: not "what sites exist" but "what sites do people actually use to find someone."
Automated Submissions Are Not Verification
The major services automate the process. A script fires an opt-out. A checkbox turns green. Your dashboard looks thorough. Whether the broker actually honored the request — whether your profile is actually gone — is not confirmed.
Data brokers re-acquire data constantly. A removal that held in January may not hold in March. Automated re-scans catch only what the script is designed to catch.
Every removal Dark Scrub submits is verified by a human. Not a script — a person confirming the profile is gone. That is why we work a focused list. You cannot do rigorous human verification across 200 sites at our price point. You can across 21.
| Approach | Coverage | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| High-volume services | 100–750+ sites, many defunct or derivative | Automated re-scans |
| Dark Scrub | 21+ high-traffic, high-authority sites | Human-verified, 30 + 90-day re-checks |
What We Don't Cover
Our 21+ do not include every broker that holds data on you. If you have a specific concern — a regional directory, a profession-specific site, something popular in your state — tell us. We evaluate additions and handle custom requests.
Data broker removal is also not the whole picture. Facial recognition databases, license plate reader networks, dating app data — those are separate problems that require separate approaches. We offer dedicated services for each.
What It Comes Down To
If a service leads with a big number, ask what is on that list. Ask how removal is verified. Ask what happens when a broker re-lists you six weeks later.
We target the sites that surface in search results, supply background checks, and put your information in front of people who can use it against you. We verify every removal because a submission without verification is not protection. It is paperwork.
— J. Daniel, Dark Scrub