Privacy
Get your information off the lists
Overview
Most of it is free and takes a weekend. Here's the order to do it in, with the official places to go and the rights New Jersey law gives you.
Freeze your credit at all three bureaus
It's free, anyone can do it for any reason, and it lasts until you lift it. A freeze stops new accounts being opened in your name. You place it at each bureau separately and lift it at the one a lender checks when you apply. (FTC)
Bureau Phone Equifax 800-685-1111 Experian 888-397-3742 TransUnion 888-909-8872 Stop prescreened credit and insurance offers
Use optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. The online opt-out lasts five years. To make it permanent, sign and mail the form the site gives you. (FTC)
Cut junk mail and sales calls
DMAchoice stops most promotional mail for 10 years, for a $6 fee online. The National Do Not Call Registry is free and cuts calls from legitimate sellers. Scammers ignore it, so being registered doesn't make a caller trustworthy. (FTC, donotcall.gov)
Use your New Jersey privacy rights
Since January 16, 2025, the New Jersey Data Privacy Act lets you ask covered companies to confirm what they hold about you, give you a copy, correct it, delete it, and stop selling it or using it for targeted ads. They have 45 days to respond, and can extend once by 45 more days if they tell you why. If they refuse, they must offer an appeal. If the appeal fails, they must tell you how to complain to the Division of Consumer Affairs.
It covers companies that handle data on at least 100,000 New Jersey residents a year, or 25,000 if they make money selling data. Banks, HIPAA health data and credit bureaus' credit-report data are largely exempt. (N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.4 to 166.19)
Turn on the browser opt-out signal
Covered companies have to honor a recognized universal opt-out signal for sales and targeted ads. Global Privacy Control is the common one. Some browsers have it built in; others add it with an extension.
Opt out of people-search sites
Search your name, open each site that lists you, and use its opt-out page (often linked as "Do not sell" or "Opt out" at the bottom). Use a separate email for these requests and check again every few months, because listings come back. New Jersey's 2026 data broker law (P.L.2026, c.25) sets up a state registry that the State says will open in spring 2027. (summary)
Judges, prosecutors, police officers, child protective workers and their families have a separate, stronger takedown right under Daniel's Law. Ask your employer or union how to use it.
Printable kit
Privacy Opt-Out Kit for New Jersey
The checklist, three ready-to-send letters (delete, opt out, appeal) and a tracker with the 45-day dates.
General information, checked November 2026. Not legal advice. MCC Solutions is not a law firm.
Questions
Does a credit freeze hurt my credit score?
No. It only stops new creditors from pulling your report until you lift it. Your existing accounts and score aren't affected.
Do I have to pay a service to remove my data?
No. Every step on this page can be done yourself, and most are free. Paid removal services save time on people-search sites, but they use the same opt-out forms you can use.
Does the New Jersey privacy law apply to every company?
No. It applies to larger companies and data sellers, and some kinds of data, such as bank and health records, fall under other laws instead. A company may tell you it's exempt.
What if a company ignores my request?
Send an appeal. If they deny the appeal, they have to give you a way to complain to the Division of Consumer Affairs, which enforces the law.