Contact Data Opt Out (Remove My Information)

Q: How do I opt out?

Submit a privacy request for opt-out with the email address and/or phone number you want suppressed, and specify whether you want opt-out, deletion, or access.

Q: Is this a data broker opt out?

If you mean stopping your contact data from being returned by a vendor, the operational requirement is persistent suppression tied to identifiers, not a temporary deletion.

Q: What about permissible use and consent?

Permissible use is where buyers get burned. Document your use case, restrict access, and make sure opt-out suppression is honored so you don’t keep contacting people who opted out.

By Ben Argeband, Founder & CEO of Swordfish.AI

Who this is for

If you’re doing vendor due diligence and you want transparency on contact data sources and controls, this page is for you. It’s also for anyone who wants to opt out and remove my information without getting stuck in a support loop.

Quick verdict

Core answer: Submit a privacy request for opt-out and/or data removal. We respect opt-out as ongoing suppression so the same record doesn’t reappear during refresh cycles.
Key stat: Outcomes vary with identity matching quality and duplicate records across sources; that variance is normal, and vendors who pretend otherwise usually reintroduce suppressed data later.
Ideal user: Compliance-minded buyers and individuals who want opt-out to be simple, respected, and durable against re-ingestion.

Choose the request type: state whether you want opt-out, data removal, or access under a CCPA request or GDPR request.
Provide identifiers to match: include the email address and/or phone number you want suppressed. Partial identifiers increase mismatch risk and lead to partial suppression.
Scope it: if you’re requesting suppression for multiple identifiers, list each one explicitly so it’s auditable.

Submit the request through Swordfish’s opt-out intake method (form or email, depending on your account and context). You should receive confirmation of what identifiers were suppressed and when suppression took effect, so you can document the action.

Field note: Most “opt-out” programs fail in one place: they delete a row today and re-import it next month from a different source. A good opt-out is a suppression policy, not a one-time delete.

What good opt-out looks like

This is the framework I use when auditing contact data tools: opt-out should be simple to submit, easy to verify, and respected across refreshes. If a vendor can’t explain how suppression survives re-ingestion and deduping, you’re buying recurring reappearance risk.

Using a clear privacy opt-out process reduces the risk of re-contacting someone who opted out, which reduces complaint volume and downstream deliverability issues once the data hits your CRM or sales engagement platform (SEP).

What Swordfish does differently

Most providers sell coverage and leave you holding the compliance bag. Swordfish is built to support suppression so an opt-out doesn’t get overwritten by the next refresh.

Suppression-first handling: A privacy request results in suppression logic applied during refresh, not just a one-time removal.
Verification mechanism: We use reverse search as the mechanism Swordfish uses to verify whether numbers should be suppressed, so suppression is tied to what’s actually present in results.
Prioritized direct dials: When contact data is returned, the system prioritizes direct dials where available, which reduces wasted outreach attempts and the “wrong number” loop that creates more privacy complaints.
True unlimited with fair use: “Unlimited” plans often hide throttles behind vague fair use language. Ask for fair use boundaries in writing and map them to seat count and API usage so you don’t discover limits after integration.

Decision guide

Use the micro-assets below like an auditor. The goal is to avoid the two predictable failures: (1) opt-out that doesn’t persist through refresh, and (2) opt-out that never reaches the systems where your team actually works the data.

Checklist: Feature Gap Table

Opt-out capability	What vendors often claim	Hidden cost / failure mode	What to require (audit-friendly)
Data removal	“We delete your record.”	Record returns after refresh from another source; duplicates persist.	Suppression policy that survives re-ingestion; dedupe rules documented.
Identity matching	“Submit your email/phone.”	Mismatch leads to partial removal; you keep getting contacted.	Clear matching criteria and what identifiers are accepted for a privacy request.
Propagation to exports	“We’ll process it.”	Your team already exported lists; opt-out doesn’t reach CRM/SEP.	Instructions for customers to suppress locally; confirmation of when suppression took effect.
CCPA/GDPR handling	“We’re compliant.”	Ambiguous scope: opt-out vs delete vs access; inconsistent responses.	Defined flow for CCPA request and GDPR request, including response categories and exceptions.
Consent and permissible use	“We only use public data.”	“Public” doesn’t equal permissible; risk shifts to the buyer.	Documented sourcing approach and permissible use expectations; buyer controls for suppression.

Decision Tree: Weighted Checklist

Suppression survives refresh cycles (highest priority): This is the standard industry failure point. If suppression isn’t persistent, your opt-out becomes temporary and you’ll re-contact people after data updates.
Simple submission + clear identifiers: Opt-out should not require a scavenger hunt. Clear inputs reduce mismatches and reduce repeated requests.
Defined handling for CCPA request / GDPR request: You need predictable outcomes (opt-out vs delete vs access) so your compliance team can map obligations without improvising.
Customer-side guidance for exported lists: If your CRM or sales engagement platform (SEP) already has the data, vendor-side data removal alone doesn’t stop outreach.
Evidence trail (scope and effective point): You don’t need proprietary internals, but you do need confirmation of what was suppressed and when so you can prove you acted on the request.

Troubleshooting Table: Conditional Decision Tree

If you want to remove my information from Swordfish results, then submit an opt-out privacy request with the email address and/or phone number you want suppressed and the request type (opt-out, delete, or access).
If you are a buyer auditing a vendor, then ask whether suppression is persistent across refresh and whether it applies to duplicates across sources.
If your organization already exported the contact into a CRM or sales engagement platform (SEP), then you must also suppress or delete it internally; vendor-side data removal won’t retroactively clean your systems.
If you need a CCPA request or GDPR request outcome (access/delete/opt-out), then state that explicitly so the response is scoped correctly.
Stop condition: If a vendor cannot explain how opt-out survives re-ingestion and deduping, stop the evaluation. If they can’t tell you how they prevent reappearance from new sources, stop again.

Limitations and edge cases

Data decay and duplicates: Contact data changes and records duplicate across sources. That’s why suppression matters; deletion alone is fragile.
Matching variance: Processing completeness varies based on list quality and identifier accuracy. If the input doesn’t match what’s stored, removal can be partial.
Downstream systems: If your team exported data before the opt-out, you still need internal suppression. This is where most organizations fail audits.
Industry variance: Some industries have higher churn in phone/email validity, which increases the chance of reappearance from new sources unless suppression is enforced.

Evidence and trust notes

At a high level: source diversity improves coverage, but it also increases the risk of reintroducing suppressed records unless opt-out is implemented as a standing suppression rule. Compliance and opt-out are part of sourcing, not an afterthought bolted onto the UI.

We log privacy requests and confirm the identifiers suppressed so customers can document compliance without guessing what happened behind the curtain.

For related controls and evaluation criteria, see contact data compliance and data quality.

FAQs

How do I opt out?

Submit a privacy request for opt-out with the email address and/or phone number you want suppressed, and specify whether you want opt-out, deletion, or access.

Does “remove my information” mean it will never reappear?

It should not reappear if suppression is implemented correctly. Reappearance usually happens when vendors treat removal as a one-time delete and then re-ingest the same record from another source.

Is this a data broker opt out?

If you mean “stop my contact data from being returned by a vendor,” the operational requirement is persistent suppression tied to identifiers, not a temporary deletion.

Can I submit a CCPA request or GDPR request?

Yes. Specify whether you’re requesting opt-out, deletion, or access so the response is scoped correctly and auditable.

What about permissible use and consent?

“Permissible use” is where buyers get burned. Document your use case, restrict access, and make sure opt-out suppression is honored so you don’t keep contacting people who opted out.

Next steps

Today (5–10 minutes): Submit your opt-out privacy request with the identifiers to suppress and the request type (opt-out, delete, or access).
This week: If you’re a buyer, validate suppression behavior and get fair use boundaries in writing so seat count and API usage don’t turn into surprise limits after integration.
This month: Audit your internal systems (CRM and sales engagement platform exports) to ensure suppression is applied downstream, not just at the vendor.

About the Author

Ben Argeband is the Founder and CEO of Swordfish.ai and Heartbeat.ai. With deep expertise in data and SaaS, he has built two successful platforms trusted by over 50,000 sales and recruitment professionals. Ben’s mission is to help teams find direct contact information for hard-to-reach professionals and decision-makers, providing the shortest route to their next win. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.