Opt out of all the data sharing you wouldn't opt in to.
Welcome
Simple Opt Out is drawing attention to opt-out data sharing and marketing practices that many people aren't aware of (and most people don't want), then making it easier to opt out. For example:
Chase may share your "account balances and transaction history … For nonaffiliates to market to you."
Crate & Barrel shares "your customer information [name, postal address and email address, and transactions you conduct on our Website or offline] with other select companies."
InterContinental Hotels may share "your information with third parties … to extend special offers about their own products and services"
This site makes it easier to opt out of data sharing by 100+ companies (or request a company or see opt-out tips). Enjoy!
Policy: "We may make your personal information, together with information regarding your preferences, activity, purchases, and demographics, available to affiliates for purposes of conducting marketing activities on behalf of Ace, the affiliates, and/or or any other service providers." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "we may also share information collected about you with companies … to offer you financial products and services"; "We may share information about you with … nonaffiliates for analysis, market research and marketing purposes" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may share Personal Information … with financial institutions or Co-brand Partners with whom we jointly offer or develop products and services" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may share information about you … With candidates, organizations, campaigns, groups or causes that we believe have similar political viewpoints, principles or objectives or share similar goals" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "we may rent, exchange, or otherwise share names and mailing addresses with companies offering products or services that we think may be of interest to you" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Bose
What?
Opt-out
Details
Collects unnecessary personal usage data
Opt-out and in Bose Connect Application, "Privacy Policy & Settings" screen
Policy: "we may share personally identifiable information with unaffiliated third parties … [which] provide goods or services that we believe may be of interest to you." Does not have a "Do Not Sell" statement, even though the CCPA requires one. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may share information … With select third parties, so that they can provide you with information and marketing messages" (As of: 2023-01-01)
CB2
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells customer info & purchase history with third parties
Policy: "We share your customer information with other select companies whose products and services you may find useful. This information includes your name, postal address and email address, as well as a record of any transactions you conduct on our Website or offline" (As of: 2023-01-01)
How your data is shared: "we collect and share … account balances and transaction history … For nonaffiliates to market to you" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "Choice may partner with other companies to provide co-sponsored or co-branded promotions, sweepstakes, contests, products and services and may share your information with these companies." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy. "we rent, sell, share, and transfer Personal Information to" list buyers, advertising clients, "data coops," consumer data suppliers - basically, to everyone and anyone who will pay for it (As of: 2023-01-01)
Costco
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells members' info with third parties
Opt-out or use costco.com support chat, 1-800-774-2678, or checkbox on renewal form
Policy: "We may share information about you with companies that offer their products and services for our and their marketing purposes" (As of: 2023-01-01)
CoreLogic
What?
Opt-out
Details
Data sharing to lenders and financial institutions
Policy: "We share your customer information with other select companies whose products and services you may find useful. This information includes your name, postal address and email address, as well as a record of any transactions you conduct on our Websites or offline" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Go through the 3 tabs (Advertisers, Ad Topics, Ad Settings) and each menu option within them. In the Ad Settings tab, make sure to check all menu options. In particular, **disable "Use Data from Partners" and enable "Disconnect future activity". Facebook makes this particularly difficult. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Instructions. Policy: "We disclose information to partners with which we offer co-branded service or engage in joint marketing activities." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may share your PII with … others with whom we have marketing or other relationships, including marketing cooperatives" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "Sending catalogs, printed materials, offers and other announcements to postal addresses and allowing our affiliates and other reputable third-party marketers to do the same" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may also share Information with business partners and third parties … that may want to market products or services to you" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Hearst
Magazines: Car and Driver, Cosmopolitan, Country Living, Elle, Esquire, Food Network Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, HGTV Magazine, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, Road & Track, Seventeen, Town&Country, Veranda, Prevention, Woman's Day, Women's Health, and others.
Includes this distinctly terrible opt-out process: "We may provide your contact information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. To request that third parties do not use your postal mailing contact information for their own marketing purposes (if we have your postal address), you may notify us in writing at [postal address]…"
Policy: "we may share information with joint marketing partners" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Honda Motors
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells owner info and car/driving data with third parties
Opt-out or call 1-800-999-1009, and also check in-car interface
Choices. Policy: "These companies may use your Personal Information for their everyday business purposes, including marketing, customer service, fulfillment and related purposes." Vehicle data policy: "We disclose Covered Information with third parties who provide goods or services that may benefit vehicle owners, including insurance companies, Honda/Acura dealerships, and consumer goods or services companies, such as satellite radio providers and connected vehicle data services and analytics platforms" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "When we cooperate with financial institutions to offer co-branded products or services to you", "with your consent, Hulu may also share your viewing information together with certain personal information with these and other third parties" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Choices. Policy: "We may share certain Covered Information with dealers so that they and we may better respond to your requests, send your relevant and personalized offers and information" (As of: 2023-01-01)
More info. Policy: "we may also disclose your information with other parties … to extend special offers about their own products and services to you" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Kroger
Includes: Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, QFC, Ralphs, others
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells customer info & purchase history with third parties
Policy: "We may share personal information with … organizations that sponsor or associate with Little League to offer information, coupons, special discounts, contests, games, promotions, and special events" (As of: 2023-01-01)
LiveRamp
What?
Opt-out
Details
Aggregates personal information from many merchants
Shares/sells customer info & purchase history with third parties
Call 1-888-529-2254
Policy: "We may share your information … With Third Parties for Marketing Purposes. This may include third parties whose products or services we believe you may be interested. These third parties may also share your information with others." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Marriott Hotels
Includes: Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Le Meridien, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, SpringHill Suites, St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin,others
Policy: "we may share Personal Data and Other Data" … "We partner with third parties who may provide promotions to you, such as sweepstakes, contests, or other offers." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Magazines: Allrecipes, American Baby, American Patchwork, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Life, Diabetic Living, EatingWell, Entertainment Weekly, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Family Circle, FamilyFun, Fitness, Food & Wine, InStyle, Living the Country Life, Midwest Living, Money, Parents, People, Practical Boat Owner, Real Simple, Shape, Siempre Mujer, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, Successful Farming, and others.
Policy: "We may share information with third parties with whom we partner to provide contests, surveys, and sweepstakes, or other joint promotional activities." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "Your information may be shared with selected third parties so that they may send you promotional materials about goods and services that they offer." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "From time to time NRS may share your name with other high-quality companies" (As of: 2023-01-01)
NYTimes
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells print subscriber info with third parties
Online account: Account → Settings → About This App → Do Not Sell/Share My Information, or email [email protected] with account and phone number or call 1-800-NYTIMES
Policy: "If you’re a U.S. print subscriber, we may provide your name and mailing address (among other information) to other reputable companies…". (As of: 2023-01-01)
Office Depot OfficeMax
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells customer info & purchase history with third parties
Policy: "We share information [can include purchase history, name, contact information, and more] with our business and marketing partners." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy. "Offline information about you is obtained by Oracle from its offline partners such as brick-and-mortar retail stores, grocery stores and their associated loyalty card programs, payment card brands, catalog orders and consumer survey programs, and third parties who may not have a relationship with you and collect offline information from their offline partners." (previously BlueKai, Moat, Datalogix, and AddThis) (As of: 2023-01-01)
PayPal
What?
Opt-out
Details
Data sharing with third parties
Cannot opt out
Policy (in "Consumer Privacy Notice"): Data is shared "For joint marketing with other financial companies" and/or "For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Shares/sells customer info & purchase history with third parties
Call 1-800-332-8884
Policy: Your information, including "information about your order(s)," "may also be shared with other marketers to bring you offers of interest" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "Your Personal Information may also be shared with our sponsors, partners, advertisers, … or other third parties in connection with marketing, promotional, and other offers, as well as product information." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Roku
What?
Opt-out
Details
Analysis of what you're watching, ad targeting based on what you watched, and sharing de-identified viewing history
Opt-out on Roku device (Settings → Privacy menu)
Phones: Collection of installed apps, demographics, and more
On Phone: Settings → Accounts and backup → Accounts → Samsung account → Privacy → Customization Service → disable "Customized ads and direct marketing"
Television policy: "if you are a Samsung Smart TV user who has opted in to both Viewing Information Services and Interest-Based Advertising, [Samsung collects, analyzes, and targets ads based on] TV viewership data (e.g., information about the networks, channels and websites visited, programs viewed, and amount of time spent viewing Smart TV content)."
Policy: "We may share your Personal Information with our business partners or co-marketers … [or] third parties that provide products and services that we think you may be interested in." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may also share your Personal Information with our advertisers, vendors, and customers, including data profiling companies, business-to-business lead buyers, and data aggregation companies" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Southwest Airlines
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells passenger information with third parties
Policy: "We may also share information about you … With our business partners, affiliates and other third parties for purposes of sending their own marketing." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may also use your activity on websites/applications to serve you personalized advertising in order to show you content that is more likely to be of interest to you." Policy has improved since 2021. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Taunton Press
Magazines: Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, and others.
Instructions. Policy: "We use your personal data [including Web browsing history] to … Advertise and market products and services from T‑Mobile and other companies to you, including through targeted advertising." Advertising addendum. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We use your personal data [including Web browsing history] to … Advertise and market products and services from T‑Mobile and other companies to you, including through targeted advertising." Advertising addendum.
Policy: "we may use information we collect for … sale or exchange of Service user information and related data to a broker, political committee, or other non-profit or for-profit entity" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Tuft & Needle
What?
Opt-out
Details
Shares/sells customer info with third parties
Call 1-800-216-6747
Policy: "We may share or disclose your Personal Information … With our affiliated and unaffiliated service providers who are offering products or services that we believe may be of interest to you"
Policy: "may also share your information with third parties for marketing purposes, including but not limited to, the third party’s own marketing or promotional purposes or other companies’ marketing purposes" (As of: 2023-01-01)
US Postal Service
What?
Opt-out
Details
Sells change-of-address requests to third paries
Can't opt-out. Request "Temporary" (6 month) forwarding to prevent disclosure
Policy: Information is sold "for address correction services only if the mailer is in possession of the name and old address; and to USPS licensed service providers to perform mailing list address correction services for lists containing your name and old address." Here are the hundreds of companies which buy your change-of-address info from USPS. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Refuse junk mail
Do not open envelope; write "Refused - Return to sender"
Policy. Only applies to unopened mailpieces with "Address Correction Requested" or "Return Postage Guaranteed." (As of: 2023-01-01)
Wireless: Opt-out; wired and business: Call 1-866-483-9700
Policy: "We may use and share your CPNI among our affiliates and agents to offer you services that are different from the services you currently purchase from us" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Data sharing for personalizing TV, mobile, and Internet ads
Opt-out and Opt-out (Services → Internet → Manage Online Advertising and Services → TV → Manage TV Advertising)
Internet/Fios & landline phone customers: Credit data for marketing
Call 1-844-366-2879
Policy: "Wireline customers can limit the sharing of credit information within Verizon for the marketing of new products and services" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy - Viewing Data Supplement: "licenses Viewing Data to analytics companies, media companies, advertisers, ad agencies, and other ad technology companies" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Discloses SmartCast usage
Don't use app, don't create an account, and don't connect TV to Internet
Policy - find for "Controlling How VIZIO Products Collect Your Data" (As of: 2023-01-01)
Policy: "We may share information from or about you (such as [city, age, and gender, businesses you bookmark or call, or if you visit a business’s URL] … with businesses on Yelp." By default, shares first name and last initial with businesses. (As of: 2023-01-01)
YouTube
Includes visitors who are not logged in to a Google/YouTube account.
Turn on "Pause Watch History," clear existing history, and repeat for "Pause Search History." If you browse YouTube without logging in, do this while not logged in (on every device you watch from). Note: Users of content-blockers like uBlock Origin may not see the right-most tab and on/off toggles. If using uBlock Origin or another content-blocker, pause it and reload the opt-out page. (As of: 2023-01-01)
Internet-connected devices: if your TV, thermostat, toothbrush, speakers, or other household device has an Internet connection (even through Bluetooth), it probably sends some data to someone else.
Magazine subscriptions: about half of magazines sell at least print subscriber data.
Print catalogs/postal ads. When you receive a catalog or flyer, take a picture of the mailing label and email it to the company's support address with a request to be removed from all mailings. If you haven't ordered from the company, ask how they obtained your address.
Financial services: Banks and anyone involved with your money or extending credit probably shares some data.
How to find opt-out choices quickly
For companies not listed here:
Navigate to a company's privacy policy by searching the Web for companyname privacy policy. Example: at&t privacy policy
Once viewing the privacy policy, skim it for a section called "Your Choices."
If you don't see a "Your Choices" link, use your browser to find within the page (Control-F/Command-F). Find for each of these 3 words: "opt" (such as "opt-out" and "optout"), "shar" (such as "sharing" and "shared"), and "disclos" (such as "disclose" and "disclosure").
Ready-made opt-out request
If you need to email a vendor, here's a request which can be copy-and-pasted:
Hello,
Please remove me from all mailing lists (electronic, postal, and otherwise). Please opt me out of all data sharing.
Please ensure I'm not contacted again except regarding an action that I initiated (such as by placing an order or opening a support ticket), and that no information about me or my use of your services is disclosed except as may be required to deliver the service.
Please reply when this is complete.
Finally, please pass this on to the company's management team or your supervisor: I expect and deserve opt-in, self-service choices about how my data is used and how I'm marketed to. I shouldn't need to opt-out, let alone by sending an email like this. I'm disappointed that the company chose to violate my privacy rather than ensuring it has my informed consent. Because the company puts its own preferences above my own (and even above simple transparency), I can't trust it. I'll be much less likely to make a future purchase. Please move to opt-in, user-facing privacy and marketing choices.
Install uBlock Origin
Install uBlock Origin for your browser. It's free, not-for-profit, and open source, and using it probably blocks as many privacy concerns as opting out of everything above.
Changes
Additions and updates
To submit an opt-out policy for a new company, correction about an existing company, or suggest a feature, please tweet to @simpleoptout, or create a GitHub issue (or send a pull request).
This site is generally concerned with practices that:
require opting out, not opting in, and
do not inherently disclose a way to opt-out (for example, emails generally contain unsubscribe links), and
are not addressed by industry-wide opt-out like DMAchoice (for direct mail), NAI and DAA (for ad targeting)
