Optery

Optery is a personal data privacy service that automatically removes users' personal information from data brokers — the companies that aggregate and sell personal data including home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, financial information, and relatives' data. Founded in 2020 in San Francisco, Optery raised $6 million from investors and has won PCMag's Editors' Choice award for data privacy services from 2022 through 2025, earned multiple Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, and was named by Business Insider as one of 30 startups most likely to become a unicorn in 2025.\n\nOptery's service works by identifying which data brokers are selling each user's personal information, then submitting opt-out requests to remove those records under applicable privacy laws (California CCPA, Virginia VCDPA, and voluntary broker opt-outs in other states). Because data brokers constantly re-scrape and re-list data, the removal process is ongoing rather than one-time — Optery continuously monitors for re-listed records and re-submits removal requests. Users get a dashboard showing which sites had their data, which have been removed, and which are pending.\n\nIn 2025, Optery competes in the personal data privacy and deletion market with Privacy Bee, DeleteMe, and Abine (Blur) for data broker opt-out services. The category has grown as consumers have become more aware that their personal information is sold commercially, and as concerns about doxxing, stalking, and identity theft have increased. State privacy laws have expanded data subject rights, giving services like Optery legitimate legal levers for removal requests. Business Insider's unicorn prediction reflects the large addressable market (most internet-connected adults in the US have data broker exposure) and Optery's PCMag award wins validating product quality. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing consumer subscriptions, building enterprise offerings (companies protecting executives' personal data), and expanding international coverage as GDPR and other privacy laws expand broker opt-out rights.