SMF·INCOGNI
Can a prompt replace Incogni?
Security & passwords — passwords, privacy and private networking
Exhibit tracking slip
Verdict
Maintaining a checklist of known data-broker opt-out pages, generating a pre-filled removal-request email draft for each one, and reminding you to re-check every few months is a real, honest one-sitting build. What it does not do is Incogni's actual function: submitting and legally tracking those requests on your behalf at scale, then repeating the process automatically as brokers relist your data.
Exhibit A — The prompt
Received on31.07.2026Build a personal data-broker opt-out tracker: a checklist of known brokers, generated removal-request drafts, and follow-up reminders. Stack: a local desktop or self-hosted web app, SQLite for the broker list and request status. No email is sent automatically — every request opens in the user's own mail client for them to review and send.
Core loop: maintain a local, editable list of known data-broker sites, each with notes on their opt-out procedure (a form, an email address, a mailing address) sourced from publicly documented broker opt-out guides. For each broker, generate a pre-filled removal-request draft (using the user's own name and address, entered once and stored locally) as a `mailto:` link that opens in their default mail client, or a filled-in form-field template for brokers that require a web form instead. Mark each broker as "requested," "confirmed removed," or "needs follow-up," and surface a reminder after a configurable interval (e.g. 90 days) since brokers commonly relist scraped data.
This needs no API key and no hosting beyond running the app itself — it's a personal checklist and draft generator, not a service that acts on your behalf. Because it never submits anything automatically, it also never has to authenticate as you to a third-party site, which matters: automating actual submission would mean storing and using your personal information programmatically against sites that weren't designed for that, a real risk this design avoids by keeping a human in the loop for every send.
Do not build: automated request submission or CAPTCHA-solving to act as the user on broker sites, monitoring for new brokers beyond a manually maintained list, or any claim of legal authority behind the requests — every request here is the user's own, sent from their own address, with no service standing behind non-compliance.Opening prefills the prompt — press enter to run it.
Exhibit B — What you lose
- B.1 requests submitted and legally tracked on your behalf, rather than drafted for you to send
- B.2 coverage across the full breadth of data brokers Incogni actively monitors and adds over time
- B.3 automatic re-submission when a broker relists your information
- B.4 legal standing behind persistent non-compliance from a stubborn broker
- B.5 support when a broker demands identity verification you're unsure about providing
Exhibit C — Why people still pay: security assurance, infrastructure, and trust
People pay for Incogni because data brokers relist scraped information regularly, and manually tracking dozens of opt-out requests across a rotating list of sites — then doing it again every few months, forever — is exactly the kind of tedious, easy-to-abandon task a service exists to take off your plate. The subscription buys that persistence and legal follow-through, not the opt-out request itself, which is genuinely something you can write.
Questions
Can I import my existing Incogni removal history?
Incogni doesn't offer an export of which brokers you've already opted out through them, so you'd start the local tracker's history fresh and note which brokers you already know are clear.
Will it work on my phone?
As a simple checklist app, yes — reviewing broker status and opening a pre-filled email draft both work fine from a phone.
What does it cost to run?
Nothing — it's a local checklist with no API calls and no hosting requirement beyond wherever you choose to run it.
What's the one thing that doesn't survive the rebuild?
Persistence at scale. Incogni tracks dozens of brokers and resubmits automatically as your data gets relisted, indefinitely; a personal checklist depends entirely on you actually opening it every few months and sending the emails yourself, and the moment you stop, the brokers you already cleared start drifting back out of date.
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Receipt