How to Delete Personal Information from the Internet

Have you ever wondered if the internet knows anything about you and how it got to know it? Well, it does. We leave certain details about us on the internet as we go from site to site. In this blog post, I will show you how to find out what the Internet knows about you, opt out of data broker sites, and how to delete personal information from the internet.

Why you should delete your personal information from the internet

The world we live in today is wildly different from what it was 20 or 30 years ago. The first internet revolution was greeted with much enthusiasm. It gave us those really large computers, emails, and permanently retired door-to-door snake oil salespersons.

Web 2.0 elevated mass communication to unprecedented levels and minimized the impact of radio on society. With Web 2.0, social media became key to marketing, and brands could now reach millions of individuals with just one marketing material and get their feedback in the comment section. But to do this, they needed information.

Not just any type of information but personal information. They needed to know what people talked about, their likes and dislikes. They needed to know what we spent time on and the brands we interacted with the most. Some of this information isn't even privy to members of your own family living in the same house! However, data scraping (or data mining) solved this problem. So companies started making millions mining personal information online and sharing it with third-party companies who needed them to make their marketing efforts more targeted.

Therefore, knowing how to delete yourself from the internet is vital because it can help you minimize identify thefts and hacks, stop spam mail, and protect yourself, your family, and your organization from malicious intent.

How do companies obtain my personal data?

It's easy. There are many players in the internet economy. Wherever you go on the internet, you leave your digital footprint behind. It begins when you create the email address you log into any site. When you visit a website and accept its cookies, you give away your right to remain anonymous, and any activity you carry out on that website can be tracked. Some of this information is collected with your consent, and some are not. It is then sold to companies that require such information.

Your information on the internet is a lot like walking barefoot in a freshly cleaned house after stepping into a puddle of muddy water outside. And like that, each digital footprint you leave behind makes up an entire library of personal information about you built up from website to website and page to page.

What kind of information about me is available on the internet?

There are several categories of personal information about you on the internet. This table below explains it better:

Chances are, the info you don’t want to float around online, like your address or phone number, is publicly available on data brokers and people-search sites. People sometimes ask, “Why not just sue them?” That's a good question, but unfortunately data brokers aren't breaking any law since they're merely aggregating public information already available on the internet.

How do I delete myself from the Internet?

I'll start by saying this is not easy to carry out. As a matter of fact, completely erasing your footprint from the internet is only guaranteed if you can completely stay off using the internet. However, you can reduce what the internet knows about you to the barest minimum by taking a methodical approach which will be outlined below:

1. Send data deletion requests

Sending data deletion requests is the first step towards removing your information from the internet. However, doing this manually for dozens of sites can be time-consuming, so you can save time by using this effective Against Data tool to send multiple data deletion requests. Here’s how to use it:

• Go to AgainstData.com
• Sign in with your Gmail account
• Discover which companies have your data
• Request for data deletion with 1-click

2. Eliminate your name from Google searches

The information pyramid on the internet is massive, but the data giant Google is at the very top of it. The first touchpoint your data comes across online is Google's highly functional search engine, which uses the same name.

Indeed, Google does not compile this information for malicious intent but to customize your search results and streamline it into something that can serve your unique needs.

However, this doesn't stop your personal information from finding its way into fraudulent hands. Here's how to remove your name from Google searches:

Step 1: Go to Google's activity controls. This is where you can access and manage YouTube history, web and app activity, and ad personalization.

Step 2: Google's data collection process is not one-time. They collect data continuously. Therefore, turn on Auto Delete to delete your information occasionally.

3. Opt-out of data brokers

When someone asks, “How do I delete myself from the internet?” One of the first things that comes to mind is data brokers. Data brokers collect information and sell it to interested parties for advertisement purposes. They are central to how personal information is moved across the internet.

However, just as this data is available to legitimate sources, bad actors can also lay hands on it and use it for nefarious activities. Here's how to delete personal information from internet data brokers selected for the purpose of this blog post:

Acxiom

To opt out of Acxiom, follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Go to their opt out page
• Step 2: Select what you'd like to opt out of. It could be emails, phone numbers, mailing addresses etc.
• Step 3: Type in your name exactly as it is on the site.
• Step 4: Give your phone number and email address
• Step 5: Click on “submit”
• Step 6: Check your inbox for confirmation.

This process should not take more than 5 minutes, but according to Acxiom, requests should take two weeks.

Epsilon

Epsilon is another big player, and they have three options for opting out.

Email: Simply send an email to optout@epsilon.com with your full name and mailing address.

Online form: Submit Epsilon online opt-out form and request them to either opt-out of selling your personal information, delete your personal information or to see what data they've collected about you.

Phone Option: Lastly, you can call 866-267-3861. An Epsilon representative will speak with you and take your request to have your information removed. You, however, have to provide ID details over the phone.

Whitepages

Whitepages is one of the most popular data broker websites. Here's how to opt out of their data-sharing service:

• Step 1. Visit Whitepages website. Input your name and ZIP codes.
• Step 2. Click on “View Details” after discovering your records.
• Step 3. Next, copy the URL at the top right corner of your profile.
• Step 4. Visit their opt-out page.
• Step 5. Paste the URL.
• Step 6. Click on opt-out button.
• Step 7. Click on remove me after the redirection.
• Step 8. Select a reason for the removal.
• Step 9. Verify your identity by providing a phone number. Ask for a call.
• Step 10. To round up this process, answer a call from the Whitepages robot and give it your verification code.

💡 Pro tip: It can take up to 24 hours before processing your request.

MyLife

MyLife gets up to 18 million site visitors every month. They not only have access to addresses, phone numbers, and net worths, but they also know your car model, criminal records, bankruptcies, and lawsuits you've been involved in. There are two options of opting out of MyLife, call or by email:

Email: To do it via email, request membersupport@mylife.com. The email must include your first and last names, previous locations, current ones, and birthdays. The email must have clarity of purpose. Ensure the information you provide is accurate to the letter.

💡 Pro tip: If you have more than one email, you'll have to process this request multiple times, using each one.

Phone: For the phone call option, call (888) 704-1900.

They will definitely try to change your mind but stay firm in your conviction. This process should take 3-4 days, and your personal information will be deleted from MyLife.

💡 Pro tip: Against Data's data deletion tool can help you perform this request more efficiently. You can request data deletion from as many sites as possible with just one simple click.

4. Remove your personal information from blogs

Those active on Tumblr may not remember it now, but we may have shared some personal information there. It's okay to preserve some things because you have an emotional connection to them, but you'll find that not everything falls into this category. Here's what to do about it:

• Step 1. Search your name on Google.
• Step 2. Click beyond the first results page.
• Step 3. If you find anything on old blogs that requires deleting, tell Google to delete outdated content.

💡 Pro tip: This is not a fail-proof option. It works, but not in all instances.

Always delete unused apps

If there had been a special jail for people who didn't read the Terms and Conditions before downloading an app, we would have been inmates at least once. We all simply click “I Agree”, don't we?

Many mobile apps collect all types of information we barely pay attention to. Shady loan apps are exceptionally prominent for this practice. Some information collected may eventually be used to carry out illegal activities. Here's what you should do:

Whenever you update your phone's software, you get reminded to delete apps that you haven't used in a long time lingering in your phone. Use this opportunity to delete these apps and stop them from tracking your activities and scraping your data.

Stay safe, share less

Perhaps we no longer have shady salespersons going from door to door trying to sell snake oil to the unsuspecting today. However, they've all been replaced by bad actors trying to use publicly available information on the internet to their shady advantage. Data privacy is a big deal in the world we live in today, and you can achieve it by knowing how to delete personal information from the internet. Follow these steps today and make the first step towards privacy independence.