National databases of United States persons


Various national databases of United States persons, and their activities, have been compiled by government and private entities. Different data types are collected by different entities for different purposes, nominal or otherwise. These databases are some of the largest of their kind, and even the largest ever.
Accessibility of government databases may be controlled by various means, such as requirement of a warrant, subpoena, or simple request from another branch of government. Commercial databases are generally established for profit. Data breaches may occur as a result of a vulnerability or publication in error.

Databases

Government

Data typesProgramCollectorNominal purposeContainsAccessibilityKnown breaches
Contact and educational informationJoint Advertising Marketing Research & Studies Department of DefenseMilitary recruitmentPublic school students 17 and older
Telephone call metadataMAINWAYNational Security AgencyMilitary national defense1.9 trillion call-detail records Assessed internally as "51% confidence" of being foreign
Consumer transactionsConsumer Financial Protection Bureauat least 10 million consumersdata at least partially anonymized
Usual residencyCensusCensusassignment of federal representationall personsConfidentiality protected
Identity, citizenship, residency, income, employment, medical, incarceration, and contact informationFederal Data Services HubInternal Revenue Service and Health and Human Servicesadministration of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Actall persons
Exteriors of mailMail Isolation Control and Tracking United States Postal Servicecriminal surveillanceall mailRequest by law enforcement
FingerprintsIntegrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System Federal Bureau of Investigationcriminal and civilian monitoring104 million persons
Finger and palm prints, iris, and facial data Next Generation Identification Federal Bureau of Investigationcriminal and civilian monitoring
DNACombined DNA Index System Federal Bureau of Investigationcriminal investigation10 million persons
Income and employmentInternal Revenue Service Internal Revenue ServiceTax collectionFederal taxpayers10,000's of 527 organization data

Private

Data typesProgram or SubsidiaryCollectorNominal purposeContainsAccessibilityKnown breaches
Employment and salary recordsThe Work NumberEquifaxdebt collection and consumer profiling190 million records covering more than one-third of U.S. adultsFor sale
Vehicle location dataVigilant SolutionsDigital Recognition Networkconsumer profilingcontaining at least 700 million scansFor sale
Vehicle location dataMVTracrepossession"large majority" of registered vehiclesFor sale
Vehicle location dataNational Vehicle Location Serviceover 800 million records
Firearm ownershipNational Rifle AssociationPolitical campaigning"tens of millions of people"
Stolen personal dataSSNDOBLarceny4 million personsFor saleMarch 2013