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

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

An open-source macOS tool that automates opt-out requests to 500+ data brokers is drawing both interest and skepticism. Commenters like the idea of reducing spam and data exposure, but question how often the automation actually works, whether it simply feeds fresh personal data to shady brokers, and how captchas, email verification, and non-US addresses are handled. Many argue that while such tools can help at the margins, meaningful protection ultimately requires stronger privacy laws and enforcement rather than one-off technical workarounds.

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.