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# Why has my removals progress gone backwards, stalled or declined?

**This is normal and happens from time to time.** Optery runs fresh scans and removals every month, so the numbers on your Dashboard can shift from month to month. Keeping your subscription active leads to more thorough removals over time.

### What to expect in your first few months

During the first few months of a paid Optery subscription, your profiles are removed from data brokers quickly. Customers typically see more than 50% of their exposed profiles removed or not found within 30 days.

However, [removing profiles from data brokers is an ongoing effort](https://help.optery.com/en/article/why-should-i-keep-my-optery-subscription-active-on-an-ongoing-basis-plsza/), and a bit of a whack-a-mole game. That's why our paid plans are monthly and annual subscriptions, not one-time purchases.

After a few months, you might see your progress stall or even go backwards. You might also see data brokers listed under **Removals Pending** or **Removals In Progress**, even after being a customer for several months.

### Where to see your progress

On your **Dashboard**, the **Data Brokers Visibility and Removals Summary** shows:
* **How Exposed Are You?** The percentage of data brokers where a matching profile was found.
* **Protection Progress & Status:** A breakdown of Profiles Removed, Profiles Not Found, Removals In Progress, and Removals Pending.

*Note: These two charts don't include Expanded Reach data brokers.*

![Optery data broker opt-out software removals and exposure dashboard](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/a/2/6/9/a2694c90838a2000/dashboard_qbqmt8.png)


|| For example: after month 4, your Protection Progress might be at 90%. Then after month 5, it might drop to 80%, with several data brokers moving back to Removals Pending. It can look like your progress went backwards, but this is expected.


### Why this happens: Optery starts fresh every month

Optery uses a "Humans + Machines" approach. We combine the most advanced opt out technology in the world with expertly trained privacy professionals to remove as many exposed profiles as possible, as quickly as possible.

Unlike many competitors who run opt outs once every several months, Optery runs scans and removals **every 30 days**. Each month, we start from scratch: data brokers reset to pending, then we run fresh scans and removals. This keeps quality high and makes sure we're always finding and removing your profiles.

### Common reasons your progress may change month to month

1. **Our list of covered data brokers changes.**
   We regularly add new data brokers and remove ones that have shut down or gone out of business. This can change your percentages.
Example: In month 3, your profiles are removed or not found on 180 out of 200 data brokers (90%). In month 4, we drop 20 data brokers that have shut down and add 20 new ones. After the new scan, you're at 160 out of 200 (80%). Your percentage dropped because of the list change, not because your removals were lost, and we'll start working on the new data brokers right away.

2. **Data brokers re-publish profiles after removal.**
   Many data brokers re-publish profiles even after an opt out. Some even show a message after you opt out saying opt outs can be overwritten, lost, or forgotten, and encourage you to check back and re-submit. This is outside our control and is especially common after about 6 months. That's why monthly re-scanning matters: it catches profiles that reappear so we can remove them again.

3. **Data broker information is constantly changing.**
   The data on these sites is often messy, poorly structured, error-prone, and always changing. This can cause a profile to appear one month, disappear the next, and then reappear again.

4. **Some data brokers have multiple profiles for one person.**
   A later scan may turn up additional profiles that weren't found the first time. When that happens, we submit removals for those new profiles too.

5. **Our scanning technology keeps getting better.**
   We update our scanning and opt out software weekly. Finding your profiles among billions of others is like finding a needle in a haystack. When we improve our matching technology, we may find a profile that was missed before, and then we remove it.

### The bottom line

It's normal for your removals progress to dip sometimes. Each dip usually means we're finding and working on more of your profiles. Over time, keeping your Optery subscription active leads to more thorough and comprehensive removals.

Want to see exactly what's changed on your account? Check your [Activity History](https://help.optery.com/en/article/where-can-i-see-the-activity-history-for-my-account-1i3iyxj/) using the button on your Dashboard.