California's DROP Data Deletion System Meets Milestone

CalPrivacy says its 90-day results show the data broker deletion platform is operating as planned.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Cybersecurity

Isometric editorial illustration of a steel filing cabinet drawer partly open beside a clean slot, with sealed envelopes neatly stacked inside, in oxblood, teal, and mustard. — California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, known as DROP, reported on November 5 that it is operating as planned after 90 days, with about 590,000 enrolled residents. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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CalPrivacy reported that California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, known as DROP, is operating as planned after its first 90-day compliance milestone. The system began processing deletion requests on August 1 and has about 590,000 enrolled Californians.

Why it matters

DROP lets Californians opt out of the data broker industry's trade in personal data through a single platform rather than contacting each broker separately. The milestone report offers an early measure of how consistently registered brokers are responding to deletion requests.

The milestone results are based on platform tracking of responses from more than 680 registered data brokers, with the average enrolled user seeing about 200 of them comply. The report does not specify how many brokers failed to respond or declined requests.

The players

CalPrivacy

CalPrivacy is the California agency that operates the DROP system and published its 90-day compliance report.

The details

DROP, the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, allows enrolled users to submit a single request to data brokers and track each broker's response within the system. The system began processing requests on August 1, and CalPrivacy reported its first 90-day results on November 5, 2026.

August 1: DROP began processing deletion requests.
November 5, 2026: CalPrivacy reported results from DROP's 90-day milestone.

Big Picture

The 90-day report is the first performance update on California's DROP framework since it began processing requests on August 1. It offers an early look at whether the single-platform opt-out model is working as intended for data brokers.

Californians who have enrolled in DROP can track whether registered data brokers are honoring their deletion requests. The milestone results show how many brokers have complied on average, which helps users judge whether to keep relying on the platform.

The takeaway

Enrolled users can use the DROP platform to follow up on broker responses rather than contacting each data broker individually. The 90-day results show the system is tracking broker compliance as designed.