Show HN: Auto-identity-remove – Automated data broker opt-out runner for macOS

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Tool Overview & Requirements

  • Script automates monthly opt-outs on 500+ data broker sites using Playwright and Node.js.
  • macOS-specific: uses launchd for scheduling, Messages/iMessage and Mail.app for notifications and email verification flows.
  • Requires personal info (name, city, state, ZIP, email, phone), making it implicitly US-centric.
  • Uses a paid CAPTCHA-solving service (CapSolver) integrated via npm.

Effectiveness & Reliability

  • Author admits the heuristic approach misses many brokers and wants help adding site-specific flows and verifying which ones actually succeed.
  • Several commenters doubt high success rates because many brokers require:
    • Finding and specifying an exact record URL.
    • Account creation and email/phone verification.
    • Complex, changing flows designed to resist automation.
  • A Canadian user reports many 404s, manual intervention needs, and likely breakage for non-numeric ZIPs and non-US addresses.

Privacy, Trust & Threat Model

  • Multiple commenters worry the tool may effectively send fresh, accurate PII to hundreds of shady sites rather than reducing exposure.
  • Some suspect many “opt-out” forms exist mainly to collect updated data or mark emails/phones as active.
  • Concerns about trusting an unfamiliar open-source project that:
    • Centralizes highly sensitive data.
    • Depends on external APIs and npm packages.
  • Desire for a very small, auditable, open-source tool with clear dry-run/audit mode to show exactly what is submitted where.

CAPTCHAs and Anti-Automation Barriers

  • Tool offloads CAPTCHA solving to CapSolver; discussion notes many such services rely on cheap human labor behind an “AI” façade.
  • Broad frustration with increasingly difficult CAPTCHAs and a trend toward device-attestation-based systems that further complicate automation.

Platform Limitations & Scheduling

  • Currently tied to macOS mainly for launchd, Messages, and Mail.
  • Commenters suggest portability is feasible:
    • Replace launchd with cron/systemd/Windows Task Scheduler.
    • Remove Mac-specific notification/iMessage hooks for CLI or containerized use.

Geography, Law & Alternatives

  • US-focus limits usefulness for users in Canada, Australia, UK, etc.; effect on international brokers is unclear.
  • Several argue stronger privacy laws (GDPR-style, right to be forgotten, California’s DROP system) are more meaningful than per-broker scripts.
  • Alternatives mentioned:
    • Manual opt-outs via curated broker lists.
    • Paid services like Optery, with mixed reviews.
    • Conceptual idea of polluting data sets with large volumes of bogus entries instead of opting out.