Frequently asked questions

PrivacyShroud is an open-source AI agent skill that finds and removes your personal information from data broker and people-search websites. It runs entirely on your own machine — your data never leaves your computer.

It works by running inside OpenClaw, an AI agent orchestration platform. The agent reads your profile, navigates broker websites in a real browser, submits opt-out requests, handles confirmation emails, and rechecks for re-listing on a schedule you control.

Data brokers are companies that collect, aggregate, and sell personal information. People-search sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, and Whitepages are a visible subset of this industry — they let anyone look up your name, address, phone number, family members, and sometimes financial and criminal history.

Most people don't know these sites exist, let alone that their information is there. Removing it typically requires navigating a different opt-out process for each site, often involving confirmation emails and occasional re-submission when profiles are re-listed.

The main difference is where your data lives. Services like Incogni and DeleteMe require you to submit your personal information to their servers — the irony being that you hand your data to another company in order to remove it from others. PrivacyShroud runs on your machine; your profile is stored locally and never transmitted to NetShroud.

PrivacyShroud is also open source — the code is auditable, the playbooks are visible, and you can see exactly what the agent is doing in a real browser window. SaaS services provide status reports; we give you a live view and local evidence artifacts.

On price: a PrivacyShroud subscription is significantly cheaper than comparable SaaS services, and a free edition is available with full broker coverage.

PrivacyShroud currently covers US-based data brokers only. This scope applies through at least the beta release. The brokers we target primarily hold data on people with US addresses.

If you live outside the US but have previous US addresses, PrivacyShroud can still search for and remove your historical listings. Enter your previous US locations in the Profile Manager under Identity Details.

No. Your profile — name, address, age, phone, and all other identity fields — is stored locally in ~/Documents/PrivacyShroud/ and is never transmitted to NetShroud servers. All broker navigation happens in a browser on your machine.

Community and Standard subscribers do share usage metrics — anonymized signals about broker playbook performance (e.g. "the Spokeo opt-out flow changed") that help us improve the product for everyone. These metrics never include personal information. The Standard edition allows you to opt out of metrics entirely.

See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Data brokers log every email address submitted through their opt-out forms. Submitting your personal email means that address enters their databases — defeating part of the purpose of opting out. A dedicated confirmation address keeps your primary email out of broker systems.

Use a Gmail alias (yourname+optout@gmail.com), a SimpleLogin alias, or any address you control but don't use for personal correspondence. PrivacyShroud's agent monitors this inbox for confirmation links and clicks them automatically.

Everything PrivacyShroud stores lives in two locations:

~/Documents/PrivacyShroud/ — your profile data, broker states, and run history. This directory is never touched by the installer or update process unless you explicitly ask to reset.

~/.privacyshroud/config.env — configuration: your edition, version, and CapSolver app ID. No personal information.

Run artifacts (screenshots, opt-out records, recheck reports) are stored in ~/Documents/PrivacyShroud/runs/ with timestamps. You own and control all of it.

OpenClaw is an AI agent orchestration platform — it provides the browser control, AI model access, email integration, and task management that PrivacyShroud's agent relies on. PrivacyShroud is an OpenClaw "skill": a set of instructions and knowledge that the agent reads to know how to operate.

This architecture means PrivacyShroud doesn't depend on any specific AI model or cloud service. It works with whatever model you have configured in OpenClaw — Claude, GPT, or others.

OpenClaw must be installed and configured before PrivacyShroud will work. The install guide covers the setup process.

PrivacyShroud uses whichever model you have configured as the default in OpenClaw. It is not tied to any specific provider. Any capable frontier model works — Claude, GPT-4o, and similar models have all been tested successfully.

For complex or ambiguous broker flows, a stronger model produces better results. For straightforward discovery and form-filling, a lighter model works fine and costs less.

CapSolver is a CAPTCHA-solving service. Many broker sites present CAPTCHA challenges before allowing opt-out submissions. PrivacyShroud calls the CapSolver REST API directly to solve them in the background — no browser extension required. Just a CapSolver account and an API key in your config.

CapSolver is optional. Without it, the agent pauses at each CAPTCHA and asks you to solve it manually in the browser window. For supervised short runs, this is fine. For unattended overnight runs, CapSolver is strongly recommended.

CapSolver charges per solved CAPTCHA — typical costs are a few cents per run. Alpha participants receive starter credits. Setup is deferred until you first hit a CAPTCHA — your agent will walk you through it at that point, or you can follow the User Guide.

macOS only during alpha (macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple Silicon or Intel). Windows and Linux support is planned for a future release. The Homebrew installer is macOS-specific.

A first-time discovery run across all supported brokers typically takes 10–20 minutes. Opt-out runs vary by broker — most take 1–3 minutes each, but some with complex flows or image CAPTCHA challenges take longer.

Subsequent runs are faster because the agent skips brokers already confirmed clear and only revisits those due for recheck or flagged as needing attention.

Most broker opt-out requests are processed within 2–5 business days. PrivacyShroud rechecks after the expected processing window to confirm removal.

Some brokers have imperfect opt-out flows — submissions may be accepted but the listing may not actually be removed, or a listing may reappear after removal. PrivacyShroud watches for re-listing and re-submits automatically. This is why ongoing monitoring matters more than a one-time removal.

A small number of brokers require additional information (like a street address or date of birth) to process removal. Your sharing settings control whether the agent is permitted to submit these. Brokers that require more than your sharing settings allow are flagged as "Needs Attention" in the Dashboard.

Data brokers continuously ingest new data from public records, other data brokers, and partner data providers. Even after a profile is removed, the underlying data sources continue to update. A removed profile can re-appear within days or weeks when the broker's next data refresh runs.

This is not a failure of the opt-out process — it's the nature of the data broker ecosystem. Sustained removal requires ongoing monitoring and re-submission, which is exactly what PrivacyShroud's recheck schedule handles automatically.

Needs Attention covers a few situations:

CAPTCHA required — the broker's opt-out form requires a CAPTCHA that wasn't solved automatically. Open the Dashboard and click "Run interactively" to handle it manually.

Sensitive data gate — the broker requires information beyond your current sharing settings (e.g. a street address or date of birth). Review the broker's requirements and either update your sharing settings or mark the broker as manual.

User skipped — you previously skipped this broker. Run it interactively when ready.

Apply via the Alpha page. Alpha access is by invitation — we're targeting a small first cohort of technically comfortable users who can work with rough edges and give useful feedback.

Alpha participants receive a free 1-year Standard subscription as thanks for helping us get PrivacyShroud right.

During alpha, updates require reinstalling. Run:

brew reinstall privacyshroud

Your profile and run history in ~/Documents/PrivacyShroud/ are preserved. Auto-update will be introduced in beta.

Email support@privacyshroud.ai with a description of what happened. If you have run artifacts (logs, screenshots) they're helpful to include. For broker-specific issues, let us know which broker and what step the agent got stuck on.

You can also submit exception reports directly from the Control Tower Dashboard — click "Send to NetShroud" in the Exceptions strip. These reports never include your personal information.