Mozilla introduces a new subscription service. This service will help users find and remove their personal and sensitive information from data broker websites.
This service includes the removal of phone numbers, emails, home addresses, and other information. Usually, data broker websites expose this information and sell it for profit.
Automatic Deletion with Monitor Plus
This new subscription service is offered as part of Mozilla Monitor (formerly Firefox Monitor). It was previously a free service that will notify you when your email was part of a data breach.
Monitor Plus will allow over 10 million existing Mozilla Monitor users to run scans. The scans could see whether their personal information has been leaked or not. Then it gives users the tools to help make that information private again.
Currently, the process of deleting information from data broker websites are complicated and confusing. Most sites have an opt-out page where you can request to delete your information by filling out a form. But, you can also contact the broker directly to request this.
However, people often do not know who has their information or how to delete it once they find it online. Mozilla Monitor Plus aims to make this process easier.
It will proactively search 190 known data broker websites that sell users’ personal and private information. If it finds data – such as name, location, and date of birth – on one of these sites, it will automatically request deletion on your behalf.
This process can take one day to one month. This feature is part of Monitor Plus for $13.99 per month, or $8.99 per month if you purchase an annual subscription ($107.88/year).
Options for Free Users
Free users will instead have the option of a one-time scan of data broker websites. However, users will have to go through the steps to delete their information manually.
This has the potential to increase their sales to the new subscription service, as it offers automatic deletion for this complex process. Users will continue to receive data breach alerts and be offered tools to remediate high-risk breaches.
Security and Transparency
“When we launched Monitor, our goal was to help people find where their personal information might have been exposed. Now, with Monitor Plus, we will help people take back their exposed data from data broker websites that are trying to sell it,” explained Tony Amaral-Cinotto, Product Manager Mozilla Monitor at Mozilla, in the launch announcement.
“Our long-term commitment to putting people’s needs first and our easy step-by-step process make Monitor Plus unique. Additionally, we combine breach alerts and data broker removal to offer a comprehensive protection tool and make it easier for people to feel safe and secure online,” he added.
To start the scan, users give Mozilla their first and last name, current city and state, date of birth, and email. This information is encrypted and follows Mozilla’s privacy policy.
Using this information, Mozilla runs a scan that shows where your personal information is exposed, including through data breaches and broker sites. The company notes that 233 million people were affected by data breaches in 2023 alone, making such a tool a necessity today.
Mozilla Monitor Plus customers will benefit from monthly scans and automatic deletion. The free scan and paid service will initially only be offered to users in the US, the company said.