How To Remove Yourself From The Internet In 2021
- How to delete yourself from the Internet?
- 1- Deleting or deactivating social media accounts
- 2- Deleting or deactivating online store accounts
- 3- Service Deseat.me
- 4- Removal of information about yourself from data collection sites
- 5- Removal of personal data from all Google sites
- 6- Removal of personal data from websites directly
- 7- Deleting outdated search results from Google
- 8- Deletion of E-mail Accounts
- 9- Clearing browser history, cache, passwords, payment methods and saved addresses
- 10- Using VPN to remain anonymous
- How to get back into online life
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to delete yourself from the Internet?
These days, the Internet is something that takes for granted. Many of us carefully document our online life and put it on display for everyone to see. However, sometimes we forget that all the information we transmit over the Internet is stored somewhere. There are countless stories of users whose personal information was used by other people or companies without their knowledge.
Some users do not care about this situation, but we are sure that if you read it, you are at least a little concerned. Fortunately, there are many ways to remove data about yourself from the Internet.
In this article, we'll offer you 10 tips for maintaining online anonymity and removing data about yourself from the web, available in 2021.
1- Deleting or deactivating social media accounts
Social networking is a big deal. Many users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networking sites are willing to share their personal information without realizing the consequences. For a hacker, Facebook can become a gold mine. You may think publishing a cute picture of your dog Rex is innocent enough, but most often your pet's name will be the answer to most secret questions to keep your password secure.
To really erase yourself from the internet, it is important to remove information about yourself from all social networking sites. To do this, go to the site, go to your account settings and find the option to delete or deactivate your account. When the operation is complete, all your information will be deleted from the site database.
Facebook will not allow you to easily delete all your information from your server. See our detailed instructions for 5 steps to completely delete your Facebook account.
2- Deleting or deactivating online store accounts
Online shopping is a temptation for many, because in order to shop, you do not even have to get up from the couch. But every time you buy a product or service on one of these sites, you need to create an account, enter your mailing address and, most importantly, add financial information. Quite a lot of data, and all of it will be stored online.
Like removing social networking accounts, all you need to do is find your account settings on each online store site and delete or deactivate your account by deleting all your information from it.
If you want to purchase products and services online in the future, use cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins. Bitcoin guarantees a completely anonymous payment method, which more and more companies accept due to the growing popularity of currency.
3- Service Deseat.me
Deseat.me is an excellent internet service created by Swedish developers Willy Dalbo and Linus Unnebek. This reliable service can view every site you have ever created an account on and remove or cancel a subscription. Subscribe to the service and you can remove all traces of your online experience.
Deseat.me Clean up your online presence4- Removal of information about yourself from data collection sites
Data brokers are companies that exist solely for online data collection. They collect your data online in any way and sell it to whoever offers the highest price. Typically, these are large retailers who buy information about you, which they then use to send personalized ads for targeted advertising campaigns. For many it is a serious interference with your privacy.
If you find your personal information on data collection sites such as Spokeo and White Pages, you can request that it be removed. However, the process of removing data from such sites is always long and lengthy and may involve archaic methods such as sending faxes and filing in paper.
5- Removal of personal data from all Google sites
You can contact Google and ask them to remove your personal information from affiliate sites. Such a request should only be made when it concerns extremely sensitive information, such as bank details or social security number, as the request is made on the form of a legal request.
We cannot guarantee that the process will be completed on time or at all, as in some cases you may lose the case.
6- Removal of personal data from websites directly
Removing personal data from websites is quite easy. We guarantee, there are hundreds of sites where you have registered for many years, but which are not used now. If this is your case, you can remove your information from the site by contacting the company directly and asking them to remove your information.
However, you will have to rehearse a bit and send a couple of requests to tech support before your wish is officially granted, which may take some time.
A key hint would be to be kind. We do not recommend you to tear and throw, THAT ALL YOUR DATA WILL be INSTALLLED.
7- Deleting outdated search results from Google
Google your name or information about yourself, and there's a good chance something will fall out. Whether it's an old website you subscribed to, an old email address you've forgotten about, photos or even your resume that you sent out in search of a job, Google can help you remove that data.
If you send a URL that contains information about you to Google, they will update their servers and remove any redundant URLs and, with them, your linking to them.
Again, we cannot guarantee that your efforts will succeed, but it's worth a try.
8- Deletion of E-mail Accounts
Deleting email accounts is a mandatory and most important step when removing information about yourself from the network. There is no doubt that email accounts contain a huge amount of personal and financial information. Reset password, bank statements, order confirmations, birthday messages - the list can be continued.
Simply login to each account, find the settings option and delete the account. This ensures that all account information and emails are permanently deleted. Remember to back up any important data you need for future use.
9- Clearing browser history, cache, passwords, payment methods and saved addresses
This is easy, although the process may vary slightly depending on the browser you are using. To delete your browsing history and clear the cache, go to the History section in your browser and there you'll find everything you need.
To delete payment methods and saved addresses, go to your browser settings. However, you may have to delete each one separately.
10- Using VPN to remain anonymous
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – There are many reasons to acquire a VPN - from data encryption, geoblock bypasses to location changes.
In the context of removing personal data from the Internet, VPN will help to keep you anonymous on the Internet. It does this by changing your IP address to any server to which you are connected. Since the IP address is your device identifier, you visit all sites anonymously. To learn more about difference between mac address and ip address, read a great article:
In addition, if you choose a premium VPN service, such as:
- PlanetFreeVPN service
- Nord VPN
- CyberGhost VPN
- Or any of the Best VPN service with a reasonable monthly deal for your budget and your needs
They not store logs and personal information, so you can remain completely anonymous using any of these services.
How to get back into online life
We told you how to completely delete yourself from the internet, and it turned out to be not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. You can use the methods and helper services presented to you.
But later you may have a new problem - how to return to online life. And for this, we also have tips for you.
If you plan to use the Internet after a large purge, you will have to make sure that you remain anonymous. Therefore, you must use a VPN to ensure that you do not accidentally disseminate any data unknowingly.
On top of all these precautions, consider only using private messaging on platforms like Signal Private Messenger that will not store or use your information, and only send your messages fully encrypted, and to always browse the Web using private browsing options: it can be achieved on Google Chrome using the “new incognito window” option, and on Mozilla Firefox with the “new private window” option, which both won’t register any of your private and sensitive informations.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What role can a VPN play in enhancing privacy for those looking to minimize their online presence?
- A VPN can play a crucial role in enhancing online privacy by encrypting internet traffic and masking IP addresses, making it more difficult to track online activities. This is especially useful for those looking to reduce their digital footprint.