Data Broker Remover Tool

A Next.js application that generates and sends removal request emails to data brokers. Built with Next.js 16, React 19, and AWS services.

🎯 What it Does

This tool helps you request the removal of your personal information from data broker databases by:

1. Verifying your email address
2. Collecting your information (name, address)
3. Automatically sending removal requests to 60+ data brokers
4. CC'ing you on all emails for transparency

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22 or higher
• AWS Account with SES and DynamoDB access
• pnpm (recommended) or npm

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/visible-cx/databroker_remover.git
cd databroker_remover

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env.local

# Configure AWS services (see Setup Guide below)

Running Locally

pnpm dev

Visit http://localhost:3000

⚙️ AWS Setup

1. Create DynamoDB Table

aws dynamodb create-table \
    --table-name data-broker-remover-users \
    --attribute-definitions AttributeName=id,AttributeType=S \
    --key-schema AttributeName=id,KeyType=HASH \
    --billing-mode PAY_PER_REQUEST \
    --region eu-west-2

2. Set Up SES Email Templates

Verify sender emails:

aws ses verify-email-identity --email-address [email protected] --region eu-west-2
aws ses verify-email-identity --email-address [email protected] --region eu-west-2

Create VerificationCode template:

aws ses create-template --region eu-west-2 --cli-input-json '{
  "Template": {
    "TemplateName": "VerificationCode",
    "SubjectPart": "Your Verification Code",
    "HtmlPart": "<!DOCTYPE html><html><body><h2>Your Verification Code</h2><p>Your verification code is: <strong>{{code}}</strong></p><p>This code will expire in 30 minutes.</p></body></html>",
    "TextPart": "Your verification code is: {{code}}\n\nThis code will expire in 30 minutes."
  }
}'

Create CompanyEmail template:

aws ses create-template --region eu-west-2 --cli-input-json '{
  "Template": {
    "TemplateName": "CompanyEmail",
    "SubjectPart": "Data Removal Request",
    "HtmlPart": "<!DOCTYPE html><html><body><p>Dear {{companyName}},</p><p>I am writing to request the removal of my personal information from your database.</p><p><strong>My Information:</strong></p><ul><li>Name: {{name}}</li><li>Address: {{street}}, {{city}}, {{postcode}}, {{country}}</li><li>Email: {{email}}</li></ul><p>Please confirm receipt of this request.</p><p>Sincerely,<br>{{name}}</p></body></html>",
    "TextPart": "Dear {{companyName}},\n\nI am writing to request the removal of my personal information from your database.\n\nMy Information:\n- Name: {{name}}\n- Address: {{street}}, {{city}}, {{postcode}}, {{country}}\n- Email: {{email}}\n\nPlease confirm receipt of this request.\n\nSincerely,\n{{name}}"
  }
}'

3. Configure Environment Variables

Edit .env.local:

# AWS Configuration
VITE_AWS_REGION=eu-west-2
VITE_TABLE_NAME=data-broker-remover-users

# Data Broker Email List
VITE_COMPANIES=BrokerName1,[email protected]:BrokerName2,[email protected]

# AWS Credentials (local dev only)
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_key

4. IAM Permissions

Your application needs these permissions:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ses:SendTemplatedEmail", "ses:SendBulkTemplatedEmail"],
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["dynamodb:GetItem", "dynamodb:PutItem", "dynamodb:UpdateItem"],
      "Resource": "arn:aws:dynamodb:REGION:ACCOUNT:table/data-broker-remover-users"
    }
  ]
}

🔒 Privacy & Security

• Email Hashing: Email addresses are hashed (SHA256) before storage
• No Personal Data Storage: User details (name, address) are only used to generate emails and never stored
• Rate Limiting: Users can only send requests once every 45 days
• Open Source: Fully auditable code

📦 Deployment

Vercel (Recommended)

# Install Vercel CLI
npm i -g vercel

# Deploy
vercel

Add environment variables in Vercel dashboard.

Docker

# Build image
docker build -t databroker-remover .

# Run container
docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env.local databroker-remover

Other Platforms

Compatible with any Next.js hosting platform:

• AWS Amplify
• Netlify
• Railway
• Fly.io

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

.
├── app/                    # Next.js pages
├── components/            # React components
│   ├── ui/               # shadcn/ui components
│   └── data-broker-remover/  # Tool components
├── lib/                   # Utilities
│   └── data-broker-remover/  # AWS clients, types
└── actions/               # Server Actions
    └── data-broker-remover/  # API handlers

Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router)
• Language: TypeScript
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• UI Components: Radix UI + shadcn/ui
• AWS Services: SES (emails), DynamoDB (storage)

📝 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or submit a PR.

⚠️ Troubleshooting

"Email address not verified"

• In SES sandbox mode, both sender and recipient must be verified

"Table does not exist"

• Check table name in .env.local matches DynamoDB table

"Access Denied"

• Verify IAM permissions are correctly configured

📚 Additional Resources

• AWS SES Documentation
• DynamoDB Developer Guide
• Next.js Documentation

💬 Support

• Issues
• Discussions

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