How To Remove Personal Information From The Internet

With all the cyberattacks and hacking going on around the world, some people have decided to quit the Internet and live their life as in the good old days. But seriously, that does not seem like a viable solution because you would miss a lot of things if you are not online. An alternative is to reduce internet usage and use it in the safest way possible. However, your past online activities do remain on the internet and you need to protect that data. This blog helps you with the steps on how to remove personal information from the internet and follow private data protection steps.

Remember, although you may never be entirely able to delete yourself from the internet, you can surely reduce your digital footprint and reduce the risk of  personal information being exposed. These steps are not recommended for those looking for a job or customers as they would reduce your footprint, making you and your profile less searchable.

How To Remove Personal Information From The Internet

Delete and Deactivate Online Accounts related to Social Media & ecommerce websites/apps.

Do you still have old profiles on sites like Tumblr and MySpace aside from the famous ones that include  Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter?  Well, if you truly want to delete yourself from the internet then you have to bid farewell to all these accounts. The next in line are your shopping accounts on Macys.com, Amazon.com, Gap.com, and other sites.

Go to your account settings and look for an option to deactivate, remove, or close your account to get rid of these accounts. You might find it under Privacy or Security else you could try Googling “How to delete,” followed by the account name you want to remove. If any accounts are unable to be deleted, replace the information on the account with something fake and phooey.

Remove Yourself From Sites That Collect Data

Companies that capture personal information are known as data brokers, and their brands include Spokeo, Whitepages.com, PeopleFinder, and a slew of others. They collect data from everything you do online and sell it to interested parties, mostly to target you more precisely. You may now conduct a search for yourself on these sites and then contact each site separately to have your name deleted. The problem is that the process for opting out of each site is different and a bit tedious as it could include sending faxes and filling out paper forms.

Directly Remove Your Information From Websites

First, make sure you aren’t listed online with your phone company or cell carrier, and if you are, have them erase your name. Next, you’ll have to contact the webmaster of each site separately if you want to remove an old forum post or an embarrassing blog you previously posted. You can either look for the correct person to contact in the site’s About us or Contacts sections, or go to whois.com and search for the domain name you want to contact. Unfortunately, private website owners may or may not accept your request to remove your comments. So, be kind when contacting these sites and explain why you want the message removed.

Take Personal Information Off Of Websites

If someone has uploaded critical information about you, such as your Social Security number or bank account number, and the site’s operator refuses to delete it, you can file a legal removal request with Google. Although the removal process may take some time and there is no assurance that it will be successful, it is your best option if you find yourself in this vulnerable circumstance.

Remove Search Results That Are No Longer Relevant

Another online web page where you might find your online instances are web pages of your previous company even after you may have left the job for years now.  After they agree to your request, you may find that the page still appears in the search results, even though your name isn’t visible when you click the link. This indicates that Google’s servers have cached the previous version of the page.

Submit the URL to Google in the hopes that it would update its servers, removing the cached search result and disassociating you from the page. There’s no assurance that Google will remove the cached information for whatever reason, but it’s worth a shot to get rid of as much of your online footprint as possible.

Finally, Delete All Of Your Email Accounts

If you have made up your mind to delete yourself from the internet, then there is no point in keeping those email addresses. You’ll need to sign in to your account and look for a way to delete or close it. If you want to reactivate an account, it will stay available for a specific amount of time. To finish the preceding stages, you’ll need an email address, so make sure this is the last one you use.

The Final Word On How To Remove Personal Information From The Internet

That brings us to an end on the topic of how to remove personal information from the internet with all the methods listed as recommended by security experts. When going through this process, remember to be patient and don’t expect to finish it in one day. You may also have to face the fact that some things will never be completely removed from the internet.

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