Vanish

🔍 Scan 210 data brokers in 10 seconds. Open-source alternative to DeleteMe ($129+/yr), Optery ($99+/yr), Incogni ($99+/yr). MIT-licensed, local-first, zero telemetry.

210 data brokers · 30 AI-training platforms · 58 with semi-automated opt-out · all 3 US credit bureaus · 30-day verify loop · 0 data leaves your machine

Your personal data is collected by hundreds of data brokers (Spokeo, Whitepages, Acxiom, LexisNexis…) and resold for $200-500/yr per person. DeleteMe charges from $129/yr to remove it. Vanish does the same — free, self-hosted, and auditable.

Try it now — two zero-install options:

🌐 In your browser: ramboxie.github.io/vanish · 100% client-side, nothing transmitted

💻 In your terminal (10 seconds):

npx github:RAMBOXIE/vanish scan --name "Your Name"

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Quick Start

Zero-install — one line from any terminal:

npx github:RAMBOXIE/vanish scan --name "Your Name" --email "you@example.com"

That's it. No clone, no install, runs anywhere with Node 20+.

Other ways to run

Install via Clawhub (AI agent marketplace)

# Install as a skill for AI agents
npx clawhub@latest install vanish

Clawhub is the npm-like registry for AI agent skills. Once installed, any Clawhub-compatible agent can use Vanish's scan and cleanup capabilities.

Clone locally

git clone https://github.com/RAMBOXIE/vanish
cd vanish
node scripts/index.mjs scan --name "..." --email "..."

Install globally (npm link)

git clone https://github.com/RAMBOXIE/vanish
cd vanish && npm link
vanish scan --name "..." --email "..."

Sample output

# Privacy Scan Report
Scan ID: scan_1776429838547_9dd0ef7b
Identity: A. Lovelace

## Privacy Score: 63/100 (HIGH RISK)

[█████████████░░░░░░░] 63/100

## Exposure Summary
- Total brokers scanned: 210
- Likely exposed: 115
- Possibly exposed: 95

## Risk Distribution
- Critical: 95
- High: 20
- Moderate: 65

## Priority Recommendations
1. [CRITICAL] Remove from 70 people-search brokers
2. [CRITICAL] Remove from 18 background-check brokers
3. [HIGH] Remove from 7 identity-resolution brokers
4. [HIGH] Remove from 21 public-records brokers

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How it works

1. Scan (10 seconds, zero API calls)

Heuristic scanner estimates your exposure across 210 brokers using a 5-factor confidence algorithm:

• Data-type coverage: does the broker collect what you have?
• Category risk: people-search = critical, property-records = low
• Jurisdiction match: US brokers for US users, etc.
• Broker reach: category penetration
• Opt-out complexity: mail-only brokers likely still have your data

All computation is local. Nothing leaves your machine.

2. Review

Privacy score (0-100), per-broker risk tiers (critical / high / moderate / low), and prioritized recommendations grouped by category.

3. Remove

18-step conversational wizard submits opt-out requests:

SCAN_WELCOME → SCAN_INPUT → SCAN_RUNNING → SCAN_REPORT → SCAN_HANDOFF
  ↓ (cleanup branch)
WELCOME → GOAL → SCOPE → INPUT → AUTH → PLAN
  → RISK×3 (triple confirmation for high-risk actions)
  → EXPORT_DECISION → EXECUTE → REPORT → CLOSE

Persistent retry/manual-review/dead-letter queues, HMAC-signed audit trail, transparent error classification (transient vs. permanent).

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vs. Competitors

Feature	Vanish	DeleteMe	Optery	Incogni
Price	Free (MIT)	$129+/yr	$99+/yr	$99+/yr
Brokers covered	210	750+	350+	180+
Open source	✅	❌	❌	❌
Self-hosted	✅	❌	❌	❌
Data never leaves your machine	✅	❌	❌	❌
Signed audit trail (HMAC)	✅	❌	❌	❌
Encrypted secret store (scrypt)	✅	N/A	N/A	N/A
Agent-native (conversational)	✅	❌	❌	❌

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Broker Coverage (210 brokers)

Category	Count	Examples
People Search	70	Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, Radaris, Truecaller, InfoTracer
Public Records	21	FamilySearch, Archives, CourtListener, PropertyShark, Zillow, CityData
Marketing Data	20	Acxiom, LiveRamp, Oracle/BlueKai, ZoomInfo, Clearbit, Epsilon
Background Check	18	Checkr, GoodHire, Sterling, AccurateBackground, HireRight
Email Data	15	Hunter, Lusha, Apollo, RocketReach, LeadIQ, ContactOut
Phone Lookup	14	Truecaller, Hiya, RoboKiller, Sync.me, CallerSmart
Financial	12	LexisNexis, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, ChexSystems, CoreLogic
Social Media	8	Lullar, SocialSearcher, Webmii, UserSearch, KnowEm
Location Data	8	SafeGraph, Foursquare, PlaceIQ, GravyAnalytics, X-Mode
Reputation	7	BrandYourself, Reputation.com, RepDigger, NetReputation
Identity Resolution	7	FullContact, Throtle, Infutor, Tapad, LiveIntent

Browser-assisted opt-out: 58 brokers support guided removal via vanish opt-out. Vanish opens your browser to the real opt-out URL, pre-fills the data to paste, and guides you through captchas + email verification. Includes the big names (Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, Radaris), background check (InstantCheckmate, TruthFinder), credit bureaus (LexisNexis, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), and more. See vanish opt-out --help for the full list.

Live HTTP submission: 8 brokers have adapters for real HTTP submission via configurable endpoints (default postman-echo.com for closed-loop validation). The other 202 are dry-run blueprints with verified opt-out URLs — future batches can extend browser-assisted support to more.

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Features

• 🔍 Privacy Scanner — 210 brokers, 0-100 score, instant heuristic
• 🤖 AI Training Exposure Scan — check 30 LLM platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc.) for default-opted-in data training. Unique to Vanish — competitors don't cover this
• 🗑️ 18-state Wizard — conversational opt-out flow, back/pause/resume commands
• 🔁 Verify Loop — 30-day re-check with HTTP liveness; proves "actually removed" vs "still present"
• 🏦 Encrypted Secret Store — scrypt KDF + per-secret salt, Windows DPAPI preferred, AES-GCM fallback
• ✍️ Signed Audit Trail — HMAC-SHA256 over canonical JSON, timing-safe verification
• 🔁 Persistent Queues — retry (exponential backoff) / manual-review / dead-letter with SHA-256 dedupe
• 📊 Local Dashboard — static HTML, watches queue state, zero backend
• 🛡️ Safety Gates — manual trigger only, triple-confirm for high-risk, export-before-delete, compliance snapshot
• 🧪 64 Tests — unit + e2e against postman-echo.com, every commit tested

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Core Safety Rules (never skipped)

1. Manual trigger only — --manual flag required, no scheduled mode
2. Triple confirmation for any high-risk action
3. Ask before delete — export decision gate
4. User-selected notifications — no opt-out pressure
5. Minimum credential scope + shortest TTL + post-task wipe
6. HMAC key required in production — fails loud in dev without VANISH_AUDIT_HMAC_KEY

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Commands

All subcommands work via vanish <cmd> (after npm link or publish) or node scripts/index.mjs <cmd> (local) or npx -p github:RAMBOXIE/vanish vanish <cmd> (zero-install).

# Privacy scan (no removal, no API calls, 10 seconds)
vanish scan --name "John Doe" --email "j@x.com"
vanish scan --name "..." --output-md ./my-report.md
vanish scan --name "..." --output-json ./my-report.json --json

# Generate a privacy-preserving share card (1200x630 SVG)
# Safe to post publicly — contains ONLY aggregate score + category stats,
# no name, email, or phone.
vanish scan --name "..." --share-card ./my-privacy-card.svg

# Quieter output (for CI / scripting):
vanish scan --name "..." --no-banner --no-color

# AI training exposure scan — which LLM companies train on your data?
# No personal data sent. We just need to know which platforms you use.
vanish ai-scan --linkedin --twitter --chatgpt --reddit
vanish ai-scan --use linkedin,twitter,chatgpt,reddit      # CSV alt
vanish ai-scan --all                                      # all 30 platforms
vanish ai-scan --all --output-md ./ai-report.md

# Covered (30 platforms): ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Meta AI, Perplexity,
# LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter/X (Grok), Stack Overflow, Tumblr, Medium, Quora,
# Facebook, Pinterest, Grammarly, Notion AI, Otter, Zoom, Slack, Gmail, Outlook,
# GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Adobe, Canva, DeviantArt, Shutterstock, Figma, ArtStation
# Each entry shows: default consent (opted-in/opted-out/licensed), opt-out URL,
# estimated time, and difficulty.

# Browser-assisted opt-out (opens browser + guides you through 58 real brokers)
vanish opt-out --broker spokeo --email you@example.com --full-name "Your Name"
vanish opt-out --broker spokeo,whitepages,beenverified --email you@example.com --full-name "Your Name"

# Verify whether past opt-out submissions actually worked (30-day re-check loop)
vanish verify                  # check entries past recheckAt date
vanish verify --all            # check every followUp entry (ignore schedule)
vanish verify --broker spokeo  # check specific broker(s)
vanish verify --no-fetch       # dry-run, just list pending

# Verify output: ✅ removed / ❌ still-present / ❓ unknown (captcha/timeout/etc)
# Updates queue state with verification results + writes HMAC-signed audit events.
# Suggests re-submitting opt-out for still-present brokers.

# Supported brokers (58 total — now covering all 3 credit bureaus + top B2B data firms):
#   People search (27): spokeo, whitepages, beenverified, intelius, peoplefinder,
#     truepeoplesearch, fastpeoplesearch, radaris, zabasearch, thatsthem, nuwber,
#     peekyou, ussearch, addresses, cocofinder, checkpeople, peoplelooker,
#     publicrecordsnow, searchpeoplefree, smartbackgroundchecks,
#     advancedbackgroundchecks, clustrmaps, 411com, anywho, infotracer, peoplewhiz, truecaller
#   Background check (5): instantcheckmate, truthfinder, cyberbackgroundchecks,
#     checkpast, backgroundreport, governmentregistry
#   Phone lookup (7): usphonebook, hiya, spydialer, numberguru, reversephonelookup,
#     syncme, robokiller
#   Public records (1): familytreenow
#   Reputation (2): mylife, brandyourself
#   Identity resolution (2): pipl, fullcontact
#   Marketing data (7): acxiom, liveramp, oraclebluekai, epsilon, zoominfo,
#     clearbit, neustar
#   Financial (5): lexisnexis, equifax, experian, transunion, chexsystems, corelogic
#     ← all 3 credit bureaus covered
#
# Tool opens your browser to the opt-out page, shows which fields to fill,
# tells you what captcha/email verification to expect, then records a
# follow-up for 30-day re-verification.

# Full interactive wizard (scan → review → cleanup)
vanish wizard

# Dry-run cleanup with presets
vanish cleanup --manual --preset spokeo \
  --confirm1 YES --confirm2 YES --confirm3 YES \
  --export-before-delete ask --export-answer no

# Live submission (real HTTP against test endpoint)
vanish b1-live run --live --brokers spokeo,thatsthem,peekyou \
  --full-name "Test User"

# Queue management
vanish queue list
vanish queue retry --id <retryItemId>
vanish queue resolve --id <manualReviewId> --resolution resolved

# Local dashboard (static HTML, no backend)
vanish dashboard data/queue-state.json
# Open dashboard/index.html in browser

# Proof report (audit trail in Markdown)
vanish report ./path/to/execution-result.json

# All 109 tests
npm test

Subcommand shortcut: vanish-scan is an alias for vanish scan.

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Architecture

src/
├── scanner/                    # Privacy scan engine
│   ├── scoring.mjs             # 5-factor confidence + privacy score
│   ├── exposure-profile.mjs    # Per-broker exposure estimation
│   ├── scan-engine.mjs         # Orchestrates 200-broker scan
│   └── scan-report.mjs         # Markdown report renderer
├── adapters/
│   ├── registry.mjs            # Catalog-driven adapter registry
│   └── brokers/
│       ├── config/
│       │   └── broker-catalog.json   # Single source of truth (210 brokers)
│       ├── _dry-run-broker.mjs       # Base factory
│       └── _live-broker.mjs          # Live HTTP submission factory
├── wizard/
│   └── engine.mjs              # 18-state finite state machine
├── orchestrator/
│   └── b1-runner.mjs           # Pipeline: prepare → submit → parse → queue
├── queue/                      # Retry + manual-review + dead-letter queues
├── auth/
│   └── secret-store.mjs        # scrypt + per-secret salt
└── audit/
    └── signature.mjs           # HMAC-SHA256 audit signing

prompts/wizard/                 # 18 .md prompt templates per state
scripts/                        # CLI entry points
tests/                          # 109 tests across 15 files

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Status & Roadmap

Current MVP:

• ✅ 200-broker catalog with verified opt-out URLs
• ✅ Heuristic privacy scanner (0-100 score, per-broker risk)
• ✅ 18-state wizard with scan → handoff → cleanup flow
• ✅ Real HTTP submission for 8 brokers via test endpoint
• ✅ Audit, queues, secret store hardened
• ✅ 109 tests passing across 3 OSes × 2 Node versions (CI)

Next (P2):

• 🔜 Production endpoint configuration for people-search brokers
• 🔜 Browser-based scan (no install) via static JS port
• 🔜 Shareable scan card (image) for social distribution
• 🔜 Notification handlers (Telegram, email, Signal)
• 🔜 Dashboard queue operations UI

Future:

• 📬 Email removal flow (CCPA/GDPR requests)
• 🔎 Search-engine verification (Google site:spokeo.com "John Doe")
• 📈 Before/after scan comparison ("privacy score went from 72 → 31")

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Docs

• SKILL.md — Skill definition and operating guidance
• IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md — MVP architecture
• FLOWCHART.md — Mermaid process flow
• ADAPTER_SPEC.md — Unified adapter contracts
• CONVERSATION_PROTOCOL.md — Wizard state machine
• DMCA_TEMPLATES.md — Bilingual DMCA drafts
• TODO.md — Backlog and validation records

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Contributing

Early-stage open source project. Issues, PRs, and new broker entries welcome.

Add a new broker in ~8 lines by appending to src/adapters/brokers/config/broker-catalog.json:

"newbroker": {
  "displayName": "NewBroker",
  "category": "people-search",
  "jurisdiction": "US",
  "optOutUrl": "https://newbroker.com/optout",
  "optOutMethod": "form",
  "adapterMode": "dry-run",
  "rateLimitPolicy": { "requestsPerMinute": 4, "jitterMsMin": 500, "jitterMsMax": 1500, "backoff": "exponential" },
  "complianceNotes": [],
  "template": { "keywords": "newbroker exposure" }
}

No new .mjs file, no registry import. Registry auto-loads from catalog.

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If Vanish helps you, star ⭐ the repo — it helps others discover a free alternative to $100+/yr privacy services.

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Legal & Trademark Notice

DeleteMe®, Optery®, and Incogni® are trademarks of their respective owners (Abine, Inc.; Optery, Inc.; Surfshark B.V.). Vanish is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of these services.

References to competitor products exist solely for factual comparison (truthful comparative advertising, permitted under US Lanham Act §43(a), EU Directive 2006/114/EC, and similar frameworks).

Pricing referenced ($129+/yr, $99+/yr, etc.) is approximate and current as of April 2026. These services use tiered pricing — the figures shown are entry-level. Check each service's official website for current and complete pricing.

Vanish is a community-maintained, MIT-licensed open-source project. It does not offer a commercial service. It does not warrant any particular outcome of opt-out submissions; each broker's response is governed by their own policies and applicable privacy laws (CCPA, GDPR, etc.).