---
name: unbroker
description: Remove your info from data-broker sites, by name or phone.
version: 1.0.0
author: SHL0MS (github.com/SHL0MS)
license: MIT
platforms: [linux, macos, windows]
prerequisites:
  commands: [python]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [privacy, data-broker, opt-out, ccpa, gdpr, security, doxxing]
    category: security
    related_skills: [google-workspace, agentmail, himalaya, scrapling, osint-investigation]
    homepage: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent
---

# unbroker

Find where a person's personal information (name, addresses, phone, email, relatives) is exposed on
data brokers and people-search sites, then remove it - automatically where possible, with guided
human steps only where a site demands a CAPTCHA, government ID, phone call, or fax. Manages multiple
people independently. It does **not** defeat anti-bot systems, does **not** act on anyone without
recorded consent, and does **not** remove public records (voter/property/court) or accounts the
person controls.

The Python CLI (`scripts/pdd.py`) owns the deterministic state - config, dossiers + consent, the
broker database, tier planning, the ledger, drafts, reports, **email sending (SMTP), verification-link
polling (IMAP), and the autonomous action queue (`next`)**. You (the agent) do the scanning and
form-driving with native tools: `web_extract` and `browser_exec` for searching and web forms, and
`cronjob` for recurring re-scans. Runs can be entered from a phone number alone (spam-call
scrubbing), with the FTC Do Not Call registry one-shot (`dnc`) alongside the opt-outs.

## Autonomy contract

This skill is designed to run **hands-off**. After intake (+ recorded consent) there are exactly TWO
legitimate human touchpoints: (1) the intake conversation itself, and (2) ONE consolidated human-task
digest at the end of the run (`$PDD tasks`). Between those:

- **Never ask the operator to choose configuration.** `$PDD setup --auto` detects capabilities and
  picks the most autonomous valid config itself.
- **Never pause before individual submissions** when `autonomy=full` (the default): the consent
  recorded at intake is standing authorization for T0-T2 opt-outs. The one exception: an action
  carrying `confirm_first: true` (always set on `dnc_register`, a registry signup the intake consent
  does not cover) waits for the operator's yes in every mode. (`autonomy=assisted` sets
  `confirm_first` on every submission for cautious operators.)
- **Never interrupt the run for human-only work.** Record it (`record ... human_task_queued
  --reason "..."`) and keep going; it all surfaces once in the final digest.
- **Drive the whole run as a loop over `$PDD next <subject>`** - it returns the exact ordered actions
  to take right now (scan, poll verification, re-check, opt out parents-first, requeue blocked), plus
  the human digest. Execute every action, record outcomes, re-run `next`, repeat until
  `done_for_now`. Then present the digest, report, and schedule the cron.

The hard limits that autonomy never overrides: no acting without recorded consent, no disclosure
beyond `disclosure_fields`, no CAPTCHA/anti-bot bypass, and `confirmed_removed` only after a
verifying re-scan.

## When to Use

- "Remove my (or my family member's) data from data brokers / people-search sites."
- "Opt me out", "delete me from Spokeo/Whitepages/etc.", "clean up after a doxxing."
- "Set up recurring privacy monitoring" (brokers re-list people).
- Checking which brokers still expose someone and why.
- "My number keeps getting spam calls" - phone-led scrub: find where the number is listed, opt
  out, register it on the Do Not Call Registry, and re-check on a schedule.

## Prerequisites

- `python` (stdlib only; no extra packages needed for the core engine).
- **Optional upgrades** (the skill works zero-config without these; `setup --auto` turns on every
  one it detects, reading credentials from the shell env **and from `$HERMES_HOME/.env`** so keys
  Hermes already loads for its own tools are picked up without re-exporting - each one converts a
  class of human tasks into agent actions):
  - **Cloud browser (recommended default): `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY`.** `setup --auto` selects it
    whenever the key is present, and it is the intended baseline: a real residential-IP cloud
    browser **clears soft/managed CAPTCHAs (Cloudflare Turnstile, hCaptcha/reCAPTCHA checkbox) as
    normal operation**, so those brokers stay automated (T1) instead of becoming human tasks. This
    is not CAPTCHA "solving" - no solver service, no fingerprint spoofing; only interactive/behavioral
    ("hard") challenges the browser genuinely cannot pass fall back to a human task. Without the key,
    the plain agent browser is used and soft-CAPTCHA brokers drop to T2 (human).
  - Email automation, two credential-free-or-not options:
    - **Browser mode (no password): `setup --email-mode browser`.** The agent sends opt-out/CCPA
      emails and opens verification links through the operator's **logged-in webmail** using
      `browser_exec`. Nothing is stored. This requires Hermes to be pointed at the operator's own
      logged-in browser, **NOT** a cloud browser: a headless cloud browser (Browserbase) holds no
      webmail session and is itself Cloudflare/DataDome-gated on webmail and on session-bound broker
      gates (e.g. PeopleConnect guided-mode). Drive the operator's real Chrome over CDP - launch
      `chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir="$HOME/.hermes/chrome-debug"` (a dedicated
      debug profile signed into the webmail once, not the Default profile) and attach Hermes's browser
      to `127.0.0.1:9222` with `/browser connect`. **`$PDD cdp` launches this for you** (finds Chrome/Chromium/Brave/Edge,
      starts it detached on the dedicated profile, prints the CDP endpoint; `--check` to test, `--print`
      for the command). See `references/methods.md` -> "Browser backends: scan vs execute".
      Falls back to drafts for an email if the inbox isn't reachable.
    - **SMTP/IMAP (stored creds): `EMAIL_ADDRESS` + `EMAIL_PASSWORD`** (+ `EMAIL_SMTP_HOST` /
      `EMAIL_IMAP_HOST` for non-mainstream providers; gmail/outlook/yahoo/icloud/fastmail inferred).
      The CLI sends via `send-email` and reads verify links via `poll-verification`. The `agentmail`
      skill (per-broker aliases) also counts.
  - Google Sheets tracker: the `google-workspace` skill.
  - The `scrapling` skill for stealth/Cloudflare-protected pages.

## How to Run

Run everything through the `terminal` tool. From this skill's directory:

```bash
PDD="python scripts/pdd.py"
```

The engine stores data under `$PDD_DATA_DIR` (default `$HERMES_HOME/unbroker`), written
`0600`. Run via `terminal`, **not** `execute_code` (that sandbox scrubs env and redacts output, which
breaks reading the dossier).

## Quick Reference

| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `$PDD setup --auto` | **Autonomous setup**: detect capabilities, pick the most autonomous valid config (no questions) |
| `$PDD doctor` | Readiness check: config, broker count, and which upgrades are on/available |
| `$PDD cdp [--check] [--print] [--port N]` | Launch/detect the operator's Chrome over CDP for Phase-2 browser + webmail (dedicated debug profile; the reliable way to send webmail and clear session-bound gates) |
| `$PDD intake --full-name "..." [--alias ...] [--email ... --phone ...] [--focus-phone ...] [--city --state] [--prior-location "City,ST"] --consent` | Create a consenting subject; captures aliases + multiple emails/phones + prior locations; prints `subject_id`. Phone-led (spam-call) runs may start from `--phone` alone + `--focus-phone` (the number being scrubbed); a missing name is warned, not required |
| `$PDD next <subject>` | **The autonomous loop driver**: ordered agent actions right now + human digest + `next_wake_at` |
| `$PDD brokers [--priority crucial]` | List the people-search broker database (curated + live) |
| `$PDD refresh-brokers` | Pull the latest BADBOOL people-search list **and the CA Data Broker Registry** (`next` requeues this automatically when the cache is stale) |
| `$PDD registry [--search NAME]` | State registry coverage (CA ~545 ingested; VT/OR/TX portals surfaced); the DROP/email lane, not scanned |
| `$PDD drop <subject> [--filed]` | **The one-shot legal lever**: one CA DROP request deletes from ALL registered brokers; `--filed` records it |
| `$PDD dnc <subject> [--filed]` | **The spam-call lever**: register the subject's US personal numbers on the FTC National Do Not Call Registry (sales calls stop within 31 days, never expires); `--filed` records it |
| `$PDD plan <subject> [--priority crucial]` | Per-broker tier + method + `search_vectors` + the exact fields to disclose |
| `$PDD plan <subject> --batch` | **Reduce view**: overlays ledger state, groups brokers by next action (unscanned/unsearchable/found/indirect/blocked/in_progress/human/done/not_found; defunct brokers are excluded and listed under `defunct`), collapses ownership clusters, **orders `found` cluster-parents-first + emits a tailored `parent_playbook`**, prints `next_actions` |
| `$PDD fanout <subject> [--priority crucial] [--size 5]` | Batch brokers into parallel `delegate_task` subagents (auto for large runs; batches of 5 - 8+ time out) |
| `$PDD record <subject> <broker> <state> [--found true] [--evidence JSON] [--disclosed F --channel C] [--reason "..."]` | Update the ledger (validated state machine); **auto-stamps `next_recheck_at`** |
| `$PDD show <subject> <broker>` | Read back a case's recorded state + evidence + disclosure log (so the parent re-verifies a subagent's `found` without re-deriving the listing URL) |
| `$PDD send-email <subject> <broker> --listing <url> [--kind ccpa_indirect ...]` | Render + record the request (recipient locked to the broker's own address). **browser** mode returns a `compose` payload to send via webmail (no password); **programmatic** mode SMTP-sends |
| `$PDD verify-link <subject> <broker> --text '<body>'` | **browser mode**: extract a broker's verification link from webmail text you read (anti-phishing scored) |
| `$PDD poll-verification <subject> [--broker <id>]` | **programmatic mode**: poll IMAP for verification links (anti-phishing scored); auto-advances `submitted → verification_pending` |
| `$PDD render-email <subject> <broker> --listing <url>` | Draft only (fallback when no email mode is configured) |
| `$PDD due <subject>` | Cases whose recheck window arrived (the cron re-scan queue) |
| `$PDD tasks <subject>` | ONE consolidated human-task digest (present at END of run) |
| `$PDD status <subject>` | Markdown status report |
| `$PDD report <subject> --sheets` | Rows for the Google Sheets tracker |

## Batch operation (two-phase: crawl-all, then delete)

For anything past a couple of brokers, run this as **map → reduce → act**, not broker-by-broker:

- **Phase 1 - DISCOVER (read-only, parallel, idempotent).** Crawl *every* broker first and record a
  verdict for each (`found` / `not_found` / `indirect_exposure` / `blocked`). Scanning has no side
  effects, so it is safe to parallelize and retry. Getting the full exposure map *before* acting is
  what unlocks cluster dedup and prioritization below. **Default: the parent drives `web_extract`
  probes directly** - most people-search sites render name/phone/address results as static HTML that
  `web_extract` reads in seconds. Escalate to `browser_exec` only for the few JS-only sites, and to
  `delegate_task` subagents only for genuinely *reasoning*-heavy work (large-scale namesake/relative
  disambiguation). **Do NOT hand a browser-toolset subagent a big list of brokers to crawl** - in the
  field this timed out repeatedly (600s, ~5-6 brokers each, no summary) because browser navigation is
  heavy; the ledger writes that survived came at 10x the cost of parent `web_extract`. A `blocked`
  (DataDome/Cloudflare/`antibot`) site is *not* a subagent job either: record `blocked` and requeue it
  for a stealth/cloud browser (Browserbase) pass. Subagent reports are self-reports - the parent
  re-fetches key URLs to confirm a `found` before trusting it (this cuts both ways: it caught a real
  listing the parent had wrongly assumed was a false positive).
- **REDUCE - `$PDD plan <subject> --batch`.** Collapses the crawl into a phase-oriented plan: groups by
  next action, **collapses ownership clusters** (a parent removal that clears children is ONE action,
  not N - e.g. one Intelius/PeopleConnect suppression covers Truthfinder/Instant Checkmate/US Search/…),
  and prints `next_actions`. `phase` is `discover` while anything is unscanned, else `delete`.
- **Phase 2 - DELETE (sequential, irreversible).** Work the reduced groups **parents first**:
  `plan --batch` orders the `found` group cluster-parents-first (most children first) and emits a
  `parent_playbook` with tailored, ordered steps per parent - follow that order and those steps
  (full recipes in `references/methods.md` → "Ownership clusters - DO PARENTS FIRST"). Do the
  cluster parents (skipping the covered children), **re-scan each parent's children after it confirms**
  (they usually drop out), then the standalone listings; send the `indirect_exposure` cases as
  CCPA/GDPR delete-my-PII emails (`send-email --kind ccpa_indirect`), and defer `blocked` to the
  stealth-browser pass. Opt-outs hit CAPTCHAs, email-verification loops, and session binding - work
  them **one at a time, carefully** (this is the opposite of fan-out), but do NOT stop to ask
  permission per submission in `autonomy=full`; in `assisted`, confirm each one. **Usually prefer
  deletion over suppression** where a broker offers both (Spokeo/BeenVerified) - but follow the
  record's `deletion.prefer`: **PeopleConnect is the exception** (`prefer: false`), where deleting
  your user data removes your suppressions and does not stop public-records re-listing, so you
  suppress-and-maintain instead.
- **Blind opt-out is the DEFAULT, not a fallback.** Submit an opt-out/deletion on **every site with an
  accessible removal channel, even when a listing was not first confirmed** - it discloses only the
  subject's own identifiers to the broker's own official channel, so it does not violate
  least-disclosure. Two corollaries: (1) a guided flow that matches email+DOB+name and says "no results"
  is a **stronger `not_found`** than any scrape - the opt-out flow doubles as the search; (2) when a form
  is automation-hostile (hard CAPTCHA, Cloudflare/DataDome, slide-to-verify slider), **default to the
  broker's cited rights-request email** (name+state+contact-email only) rather than recording `blocked`.
  CAPTCHA policy: never defeat behavioral/token/slider challenges; OK to read a static distorted-text or
  plain-arithmetic CAPTCHA on the subject's own opt-out, but stop if the site rejects the whole
  submission after a correct answer (it is fingerprinting the automation). Third-party/indirect records
  are the exception - still confirm those before acting. Per-site game plans + the meta-search no-op
  skip-list are in `references/site-playbooks.md`; the full policy is in `references/methods.md`.
- **PeopleConnect delete-wipes-suppression (permanent rule).** A PeopleConnect *deletion* wipes the
  suppression and the subject re-lists across the whole affiliate cluster. If a "Your deletion request
  for PeopleConnect.us is Complete" email ever appears, the suppression is gone -> **re-run suppression
  and re-verify** the Control step reads "suppressed". Never leave this cluster on a completed deletion
  (see `references/brokers/intelius.json`).

Subagent reports are self-reports: the parent re-verifies key claims (listing URLs, match basis) before
recording `found` and before any deletion.

## Procedure (the autonomous loop)

1. **Setup (once, no questions).** Run `$PDD setup --auto` - it detects capabilities and configures
   the most autonomous valid combination itself (programmatic email when `EMAIL_*` creds exist,
   Browserbase when its key exists, `age` encryption when the binary exists, `autonomy=full`). Then
   `$PDD doctor` and show the operator the readiness output **for information, not as a question** -
   proceed immediately. Mention what would unlock more automation (e.g. email creds) but do not wait.
2. **Intake + consent (the ONE human conversation).** `$PDD intake ...` with `--consent` (and
   `--consent-method`). Without consent the engine refuses to plan or act. Collect everything in one
   pass - names/aliases, current + prior cities, emails, phones - so you never have to come back with
   questions. For California subjects, also read `references/legal/drop.md`: `next` will surface a
   `drop_submit` one-shot that deletes from every registered broker (~545) at once, which is the
   single highest-leverage action. File it, then `drop <subject> --filed`. For non-CA subjects the
   registry is covered by targeted CCPA/GDPR emails (`registry --search`, then `send-email`); the
   people-search sites are worked directly in either case.
3. **Drain the queue.** Loop:

   ```
   while true:
     q = $PDD next <subject>
     if q.actions is empty: break
     execute EVERY action in order; record each outcome via $PDD record
   ```

   `next` emits, in order: `refresh_brokers` (stale cache), `fanout_scan`/`scan_inline` (Phase 1
   crawl - see step 4), `poll_verification` (in-flight email confirmations), `verify_removal` (due
   re-checks), `optout_web_form`/`optout_email_send` (Phase 2, parents-first with playbook steps),
   `indirect_email_send`, and `stealth_rescan`. Human-only work never appears as an action - it
   accumulates in `q.human_digest`. In `autonomy=full`, execute actions without pausing, except any
   action with `confirm_first: true`, which waits for the operator in every mode.
4. **Scanning (when `next` says so).** For `fanout_scan`: run `$PDD fanout <subject>` and **spawn one
   `delegate_task` subagent per `batch`, in parallel, passing that batch's ready-made `brief`** - do
   not scan all brokers yourself sequentially. For `scan_inline`: scan the few brokers yourself.
   Either way, each broker gets **every** `search_vectors` entry via the `references/methods.md`
   ladder (`web_extract` → `site:` probe → `browser_exec` → `scrapling`), a 404 is INCONCLUSIVE
   (not `not_found`), `blocked` is recorded when `antibot` is set and no stealth browser is available,
   and subject vs namesake/relative is confirmed before recording:
   `$PDD record <subject> <broker> <found|not_found|indirect_exposure|blocked> --found <bool> --evidence '{"listing_urls":[...]}'`.
   The parent re-verifies key `found` claims from subagents before trusting them.
5. **Opt-outs (when `next` says so).** Actions come pre-ordered parents-first with `steps` from each
   broker record's own `optout.playbook` (field-verified; cluster parents like PeopleConnect,
   Whitepages, BeenVerified, Spokeo have exact, live-checked recipes). **Deletion usually beats
   suppression**: when an action carries `prefer_deletion`, complete the record's DELETION lane, not
   just the hide-my-listing flow. When it carries `prefer_suppression` instead (**PeopleConnect** -
   deleting removes your suppressions and does not stop re-listing), do the suppression flow and keep
   it maintained; use their Delete button only for a deliberate data-purge. Per method:
   - **web_form** → drive `optout_url` with `browser_exec` (`new_tab` + `wait_for_load`, `fill_input`,
     a `js()` click to submit), submit only `disclosure_fields`, `capture_screenshot()` the confirmation, then the action's `after` record command.
     Playbooks may end with a right-to-delete `send-email` follow-up - do it (full erasure, not just
     listing suppression).
    - **email** → `$PDD send-email <subject> <broker> --kind <ccpa|gdpr|generic> --to <addr>
      --listing <url>` records + discloses in one step (recipient locked to addresses the broker
      record declares; `next` picks the kind from