February 6, 2024 Mozilla has unveiled a novel subscription service through Mozilla Monitor, aimed at addressing the widespread concern of personal information being mishandled and sold by data brokers online. This service offers a proactive approach to finding and removing personal details like phone numbers, emails, and home addresses from a comprehensive list of 190 data broker sites known for trading personal data for profit. The Monitor Plus subscription, an extension of the existing Mozilla Monitor platform, facilitates automatic data removal, streamlining a process that has traditionally been cumbersome and confusing for the average user.

For a monthly fee, subscribers can now have their information regularly scanned for and removed from these data broker sites without having to navigate the complex opt-out procedures individually. This service not only simplifies the removal process but also provides an added layer of security against the unauthorized distribution of sensitive information. Initially available to U.S. users, this initiative by Mozilla reflects its ongoing commitment to enhancing user privacy and security in the digital age, providing a valuable tool in the fight against data breaches and the unauthorized sale of personal information.

Sources include: TechCrunch