Using PrivacyShroud
PrivacyShroud runs as an AI agent skill on your machine. Your AI agent handles the browser navigation, form filling, and confirmation emails — you set up your profile and tell it what to do.
Getting started
Installation
PrivacyShroud installs via Homebrew. Before installing, you'll need OpenClaw installed and configured with at least one AI model. See the install guide for step-by-step OpenClaw setup.
After installation, start a new OpenClaw session. Your agent will automatically load the PrivacyShroud skill. Tell it: "Set up my PrivacyShroud profile" to begin.
Alpha note: During alpha, updates require reinstalling. Run brew reinstall privacyshroud to get a new version. Your profile and run history are always preserved.
Profile Manager
What is the Profile Manager?
The Profile Manager is where you enter the identity information PrivacyShroud uses to search for and remove your data. Open it at https://localhost:18790/profile-editor after starting the Control Tower dashboard, or via Profile Manager in the Dashboard header.
Setting up essentials
Nearly all brokers require four fields to process opt-out requests:
- Legal name — your full legal name, exactly as it appears on official documents
- City — your current city
- State — two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. WA, CA, NY)
- Confirmation email — an email address for receiving opt-out confirmation links
Do not use your personal email address for opt-out confirmations. Data brokers log all submitted email addresses and may add a confirmation address to their own databases. Use a dedicated address — a Gmail alias, a SimpleLogin address, or any address you control but don't use personally.
Why a separate confirmation email?
Many broker opt-out flows send a confirmation link that must be clicked to complete removal. PrivacyShroud's agent handles this automatically — it monitors the inbox and clicks the link when it arrives. The confirmation email address is shared with broker sites; your personal email is not.
Your OpenClaw agent needs email access to handle confirmations automatically. Set up email access via your OpenClaw configuration before running opt-outs on brokers that require email confirmation.
Identity details
What are identity details?
Identity details are additional fields that help identify your record in broker search results. They are used for matching — not automatically submitted to brokers unless your sharing settings allow it.
- Approximate age — helps distinguish your record from others with the same name
- Date of birth — required by some brokers to process removal
- Phone number — some brokers search by phone
- Street address — some brokers require address confirmation for removal
Address fields
Your current street address and ZIP code appear in broker identity details. These fields are not automatically submitted unless your sharing settings include them. A small number of brokers — notably PeopleFinders — require a street address to match and remove your record. Your agent will pause and ask for confirmation before submitting any address data.
Previous locations are also searchable — brokers often list people at past addresses as well as current ones. Add previous US cities and states to improve discovery coverage.
Sharing settings
The "What can your agent share?" section controls which fields the agent is allowed to submit to broker opt-out forms. Three options:
- Essential information only — name, city, state. Default. Works for the majority of brokers.
- Selected fields — you choose which additional fields to permit (address, phone, date of birth, etc.)
- All information I've added — agent uses any filled field. Highest removal rate; most data submitted.
You can change this setting at any time. It applies to all future runs.
Running PrivacyShroud
Running discovery
Discovery is the first step — the agent searches broker sites to find listings containing your information. Tell your agent:
The agent opens a browser session, navigates to each broker's search page, and identifies listings that match your profile. You can watch the progress in the Control Tower sidebar. Discovery does not submit any opt-out requests — it only finds listings.
First run: Discovery across all supported brokers typically takes 10–20 minutes. Subsequent runs are faster because the agent skips brokers already confirmed clear.
Opt-out runs
After discovery, the agent can submit opt-out requests for any listings found. Tell your agent:
Or target a specific broker:
The agent navigates each broker's opt-out flow, fills forms, handles CAPTCHAs, and monitors for confirmation emails. Each run produces a timestamped record stored locally in ~/Documents/PrivacyShroud/runs/.
CAPTCHA handling
Many broker sites use CAPTCHA challenges to verify you're human. PrivacyShroud handles these in two ways:
- Automatic (with CapSolver) — CapSolver solves most CAPTCHAs in the background. See CapSolver setup.
- Manual — when automatic solving fails or CapSolver is not configured, the Control Tower sidebar pauses and prompts you to solve the CAPTCHA in the browser window. Click "I've solved it — continue" when done. A 5-minute timer starts; if you don't respond, the broker is skipped and queued for retry.
Recheck schedule
Brokers frequently re-list removed profiles, sometimes within days. PrivacyShroud's recheck schedule automatically re-verifies removals and re-submits opt-outs when a profile reappears.
You control the recheck interval per profile in the Profile Manager. The default is 90 days. For brokers with known re-listing behavior (Spokeo, for example), a shorter interval — 7 or 14 days — is recommended.
To trigger a recheck manually:
Control Tower
What is the Control Tower?
The Control Tower is PrivacyShroud's local web interface, served at https://localhost:18790. It has three components:
- Sidebar — a live activity panel shown in the browser during active runs. Shows the current broker, step-by-step progress, and intervention prompts (CAPTCHA, sensitive data requests).
- Dashboard — a kanban-style overview of all brokers and their current status. Accessible at localhost:18790/dashboard.
- Profile Manager — where you edit your profile. Accessible at localhost:18790/profile-editor.
The Control Tower API server needs to be running before your agent can use the Dashboard or post run updates. The easiest way to start it is to simply ask your agent — if you have shell access enabled in OpenClaw, it will start the server automatically:
Your agent checks whether the API is already running and starts it if not. If shell access is not enabled in OpenClaw, it will prompt you to start it manually:
In practice, you rarely need to think about this — the agent automatically checks whether the API server is running at the start of every PrivacyShroud interaction and starts it if needed (with your permission).
TLS certificate: The Control Tower uses a self-signed certificate. On first open, your browser will show a security warning. Click Advanced → Proceed to localhost to continue. This is expected — the connection is local to your machine and secure.
Dashboard
The Dashboard shows all brokers in a kanban layout with seven columns: Not Yet Run, Found, Needs Attention, Failed, Opted Out, Clear, and Coming Soon.
Click any broker card to see its details and available actions — run interactively, skip, or mark as manual. The Run History panel shows a log of all past runs with broker counts and outcomes.
Broker coverage
The Broker Coverage page shows all brokers PrivacyShroud currently covers, their status in your profile, and brokers coming in future releases. Accessible at localhost:18790/broker-coverage.
Reference
Broker states
Each broker in the Dashboard has a current state:
- Not Yet Run — discovery has not been attempted on this broker
- Found — a matching listing was found; opt-out not yet submitted
- Needs Attention — deferred: CAPTCHA required, sensitive data gate, or user-skipped
- Failed — the opt-out flow encountered an error
- Opted Out — opt-out submitted and confirmed
- Clear — no listing found, or removal confirmed on recheck
- Coming Soon — broker is planned for a future release
CapSolver setup
CapSolver is a CAPTCHA-solving service that allows PrivacyShroud to handle most broker CAPTCHA challenges automatically. PrivacyShroud calls the CapSolver REST API directly — no browser extension is needed.
Sign up at capsolver.com and add credits. CapSolver charges per solved CAPTCHA — typical runs cost a few cents.
Copy your API key from the CapSolver dashboard.
Add CAPSOLVER_API_KEY=<your-key> to ~/.privacyshroud/config.env. Or just ask your agent — it will walk you through this when you first hit a CAPTCHA and offer to write the key for you.
Disclosure: If you sign up for CapSolver through PrivacyShroud, NetShroud earns a small affiliate commission. This helps fund development. There is no cost difference to you.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about PrivacyShroud, data handling, and the opt-out process are covered in the FAQ →