It means that, at some point in the past, you have opted out. It stops people from being able to pull a soft credit report on you and therefore giving you "pre-approved" or "pre-qualified" offers in the mail. In most cases you aren't missing out as even if you get one of the above it does not automatically mean that when you complete the application and your report is pulled as a hard pull that you will be approved. IMHO it just decreases the junk mail I receive somewhat
