Executive Summary
The identity threat landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years – fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), modern fraud attacks are faster, more targeted, and more convincing than ever before. Yet even as threats grow more sophisticated, the root of many successful attacks remains surprisingly simple: criminals rely on publicly available personal information.
Everyday consumers have hundreds of pieces of exposed personal data – addresses, phone numbers, family names, birthdays, employment history – floating across dozens of people-search websites and data broker sites. Few understand just how exposed this information is or how powerfully it enables fraud.
This creates a unique opportunity for organizations offering consumer-facing digital products: by helping reduce customers’ digital footprints, you meaningfully reduce their risk of impersonation, phishing, account takeover, scams, and more. Iris’ Private Data Removal product is a critical new pillar of modern identity protection – and a powerful way for organizations to deliver visible, proactive value to customers.
The Digital Footprint Consumers Don’t Know They Have
Public data exposure is a widespread, increasingly dangerous issue hiding in plain sight. Today, the average person now has more than 3,000 pieces of exposed data circulating online. These websites compile personal details from public records, scraped online content, marketing databases, social feeds, and breached data. They publish full profiles that can include names, dates of birth, phone numbers, current and past addresses, family relationships, social media links, and sometimes even asset ownership or professional details.
Most consumers never authorized any of this. And many don’t even know it’s happening.
Exacerbating the problem is that removal of this information is not a one-time task. Even when consumers manually request removals, those same sites often repopulate their data within months. New breaches fuel the cycle, and many brokers intentionally make the opt-out process confusing, time-consuming, or both.
And therein lies the issue: unless someone is actively and continuously removing this information (which almost nobody is), their personal data remains exposed – and easily weaponized.
How Public Exposure Fuels Modern Fraud
Fraudsters no longer need to guess or improvise. With access to detailed personal information, they can tailor attacks that feel alarmingly personal and nearly impossible to distinguish from legitimate communication.
Exposed data enables highly effective scams and attacks, including:
›Highly targeted phishing and spear-phishing
Fraudsters can reference personal addresses, family members, places of work, or recent moves to create compelling messages that easily bypass any skepticism.
›Impersonation and account takeover
Security questions become easy to answer when a victim's personal details are public. Attackers can also pose as victims to banks or support teams with worrying accuracy.
›Social engineering with AI assistance
Voice cloning, deepfake videos, and AI-generated scripts become far more convincing when fed personal information from data broker sites.
›Small business owner scams
Public business listings, DBA records, and entrepreneurial profiles fuel sophisticated scams against these individuals.
›Synthetic identity creation
Children, seniors, and other inactive credit users are especially vulnerable to this type of fraud, particularly when their information appears in multiple databases.
The more personal data available online, the easier (and faster) criminals can execute attacks. Reducing this exposed footprint helps disrupt the foundation of these schemes.
Why Digital Footprint Reduction is Now a Core Component of Identity Protection
Consumers today want identity protection that is proactive, easy, and integrated into the digital experiences they already use (after all, convenience is king).
And they want tools that can visibly reduce their risk; digital footprint reduction fits squarely under this demand. Removing exposed data provides customers with:
›True fraud deterrence
Fraud attempts are more difficult to execute if attackers can't find usable personal details.
›Tangible, visible outcomes
Seeing "158 removals completed" builds confidence and engagement.
›A sense of control
Most consumers feel overwhelmed by privacy risks. Removal gives them immediate relief and empowerment.
›Ongoing security maintenance
More data is scraped, breaches happen, and brokers refresh their databases – the cycle continues. Continuous scanning and removal is critical.
It’s also exactly the type of capability consumers say they want incorporated into the apps they already trust: Iris’ 2025 Identity & Cybersecurity Concerns (ICC) Survey revealed that more than 8 in 10 consumers said they would use identity protection tools that were integrated into digital platforms they already use.
Introducing: Iris Private Data Removal
Iris’ Private Data Removal solution fills the gap of one of the most overlooked areas of modern identity security.
Our tool routinely scans people-search websites and data brokers for exposed personal information. When found, the customer is alerted and Iris automatically submits removal requests on the customer’s behalf, keeping them informed of the removal status throughout the process.
Unlike manual removal services, Iris offers ongoing monitoring and recurring removals, because data repopulation is predictable and can happen frequently. This creates sustained protection and not just a one-off clean-up.
For organizations like yours, offering this type of automated removal service becomes a powerful and tangible way to help customers reduce their exposure and risk.
How Organizations Can Offer or Integrate Private Data Removal
Iris knows how important it is for our partners to offer identity and cyber protection solutions that match their core products and business models, while also aligning with customer experience goals. Some want identity protection woven directly into their digital platforms, while others want an expanded, bundled offering that enhances customer value without large development lifts.
Iris supports both approaches because of its flexible platform architecture and multiple delivery models.
›Embedded Within Digital Products
Organizations that want a seamless, natively branded experience can integrate Private Data Removal directly into their apps or platforms using Iris' award-winning APIs or web SDKs. This allows consumers to manage their personal data removal within the environments they already trust and use daily. This model strengthens engagement with the organization's primary product, differentiates the digital experience, and adds high-value utility that supports long-term retention.
›Bundled as Part of a Broader Offering
Some organizations prefer to offer identity protection as a supplement to an existing product or service, using ready-to-launch Iris portals or web experiences. These require little technical lift and allow companies to expand their value proposition quickly and efficiently. This model helps organizations enhance loyalty, improve competitive parity, and elevate the perceived value of their core offering.
Regardless of the approach, organizations are typically motivated by the same goals: strengthening customer trust, improving stickiness, enhancing product differentiation, increasing value, and keeping pace with evolving market expectations around digital safety.
Why Private Data Removal Drives Strong Customer Engagement
One of the biggest challenges in delivering value-added services is sustaining customer engagement - and identity protection is no exception. Customers often enroll in monitoring tools but interact with them only when something goes wrong.
Iris’ Private Data Removal solution changes this dynamic.
Because customers receive clear, recurring results such as notifications that their information was removed from multiple sites – they see the direct value of the service. It encourages ongoing engagement, builds trust, and reinforces the value of the providing organization.
Visible, preventive protection is incredibly compelling in an environment where consumers feel constantly exposed. This creates trust that’s difficult for competitors to match.
A Real-World Scenario: The Difference Data Removal Makes
Consider an everyday consumer who recently moved to a new city. Within weeks, her new address, old address, phone number, age, and family relationships appear across dozens of data broker sites.
A fraudster sees this and sends a phishing text referencing her recent move and a need to update her banking details. The message appears legitimate, the caller ID is spoofed, and she clicks a link that ultimately exposes her credentials.
If her personal data had been removed from these sites, the attacker would not have had the necessary personal details to construct such a persuasive scam. The attack might never have been attempted.
Why Iris® Powered by Generali
The Iris platform is not a typical B2B2C identity protection solution. It is a modern integration engine designed to plug seamlessly into diverse digital ecosystems. Iris offers flexible experiences – API, web SDK, easy-to-embed tools, or fully managed SSO portals – making it simple for organizations to deliver powerful identity protection in the way that best complements their brand and customer journey.
With Private Data Removal, Iris expands its proactive protection capabilities and gives organizations a way to deliver real, everyday value to the people they serve. Private Data Removal is more than a feature; it’s a critical new layer of identity protection that consumers need and will benefit from daily.
By integrating or offering Iris Private Data Removal, organizations can help their customers reclaim something priceless: a little more privacy, a little less exposure, and a lot more peace of mind.
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