Glossary
The words people use when your information gets out
Most people meet these terms at a bad moment. Each entry says what it means, why it matters to you specifically, and what to actually do — rather than just what the dictionary says.
- Address Confidentiality Program (ACP)A state programme giving survivors a substitute legal address for use in public records.
- Adverse action noticeThe notice an employer must send before and after rejecting you because of a background check.
- Authorized agentSomeone you empower to submit privacy requests on your behalf.
- Ban the box / fair-chance hiringLaws restricting when and how an employer may ask about or use criminal history.
- California Delete ActThe California law that created a single deletion request reaching every registered data broker.
- CCPA / CPRACalifornia's consumer privacy law, granting rights to know, delete, correct and opt out.
- Clean Slate lawA state law that seals eligible criminal records automatically, without the person applying.
- Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA)Any company that regularly assembles consumer information to furnish reports to third parties.
- Credit freezeBlocking new credit accounts from being opened in your name.
- Data brokerA company that collects personal information about people it has no relationship with, and sells it.
- Data broker registryA public, state-maintained list of data brokers legally operating in that state.
- DeindexingRemoving a page from a search engine's index without removing the page itself.
- DoxxingPublishing someone's private identifying information — usually a home address — to expose them to harassment.
- DROP (Deletion Request and Opt-out Platform)California's centralised platform for deleting yourself from every registered data broker at once.
- ExpungementA court order restricting or destroying the government's record of a criminal case.
- FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act)The federal law governing companies that assemble consumer reports, including background checks.
- File disclosureYour right under FCRA § 609 to a complete copy of what a consumer reporting agency holds on you.
- Google Results about youGoogle's tool for requesting removal of search results that expose your contact details.
- Mugshot siteA website that republishes arrest photographs and charges, often alongside a paid removal offer.
- Opt outAsking a company not to sell or share your data — which is weaker than asking it to delete it.
- People-search siteA consumer-facing website that publishes a searchable profile of a named individual.
- PII (personally identifiable information)Information that can identify a specific person, alone or combined with other data.
- Power of attorneyA legal instrument granting someone authority to act for you.
- PretextingImpersonating someone credible to extract information or access.
- Public recordsGovernment records that are open to inspection by law.
- Record sealingRestricting public access to a criminal record without destroying it.
- Relative linkingInferring and publishing family relationships from shared addresses and surnames.
- Right to be forgottenA European right to have certain personal information delisted from search results. It does not exist in the US.
- Sensitive personal informationA legally distinct category carrying heightened protection, including health, biometric and precise location data.
- SIM swapAn attacker persuades your mobile carrier to move your phone number to their device.
- Skip tracingThe professional practice of locating a person who does not want to be found.
- SuppressionHiding a record from public view while retaining it internally.
- SwattingMaking a false emergency report to send an armed police response to someone's home.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)Requiring a second proof of identity beyond a password.
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