How to Remove Personal Information From the Internet
- Rahul Manchanda
- Mar 29, 2023
- 9 min read
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Have you heard of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which took place in the 2010s? Wikipedia tells us that data of nearly 87 million Facebook users were gathered in it.
The data breach is not the only harm, as no personal information is safe online. Many data brokers gather your details online and trade them for some bucks, making data privacy a major concern. If we talk figures, Consumer Sentinel Network received 5.7 million reports in 2021, including fraud, identity theft, and other crimes. Let us tell you that the number increased greatly from 2020, and there for 1.4 million complaints for mere identity theft.
This is just one of the figures regarding online privacy and security, many are surfacing in the news now and then. Well, maybe that’s why Americans seem to have a hard time trusting the security of their personal data. The condition has worsened to a state where six out of ten citizens consider it impossible to indulge in their routine without being watched by organizations. The threats are nowhere depleting, making it hard to feel secure while scrolling online.
We can not continue living in a state like this and must find a solution to surfing the online world without fear. But again, how is that going to happen?
Even though it seems to be a long way, you can secure yourself in many ways. From breach-related terms to ways to remove personal information from Google, let us uncover them all in this post.
Personal information or personal data is any detail concerning a certain person. It can include name, email address, physical address, contact number, and personal information. History of employment, social security number, and financial records also add to the list.
Talking of the internet’s influence on your personal data, you can find your details stored in plenty of spaces. These include social media platforms, web applications, healthcare providers, employers, etc.
You might not realize it, but data brokers can gather information from public social media handles. Keep the usage to a minimum and deactivate or directly delete the accounts no longer in use. These can also include the sites that are less in trend now, such as Tumblr. The social media handles still in use would require you to adjust their privacy settings. For example, locking the Facebook profile.
Data brokers, as the name suggests, are the people or companies who gather and trade your data for money. Now talking about how to remove your personal details, start by finding websites with your information.
Next, approach them to remove your online information, but don’t be shocked, as there can be numerous sites with your data. Fortunately, there are platforms like incogni.com that reach data brokers to delete your details for you.
How many applications do you have on your phone or tablet? Do you know that many of them can even fetch your personal details, including your name and address, and even where you spend? You can learn the terms and conditions of a respective application to know what information is collected.
Some sites may even sell the gathered data, calling you to lessen the share of the data. Deleting all the unnecessary phone apps can be another step in deleting your data footprints.
Google, the search giant, is flooded with an abundance of data, calling you to learn how to remove your personal data. Look for the activity where you oversee the app and web activity, ad personalization, etc. You must remove your browser history and outdated search results.
You can also alter the security settings of your social media handles and applications before downloading and the browser. That is important for you to erase your presence from the internet.
Whether you are using a new application on your phone or surfing some random site, you barely think that someone is collecting your details. However, in some situations, you need to keep that in mind, such as when you shop, take an online quiz, enroll in an online quiz, or create a new social media account.
Fortunately, you can erase the footsteps of your presence from the internet. But before that, let us get into more detail about removing your information from-
Websites fetch information by recoding your device’s ID and IP or internet protocol address. These details are pretty unique and can discover you. Apart from this, cookies are another way to gather data. They can include information such as your user name and preferred language. This information can facilitate targeting you for your ad campaigns etc.
The applications on your mobile can make it easy for app developers, data brokers, and advertisers to reach you. And in case you connect to Bluetooth, GPS, or WiFi, many details about you or your geographical location can be at risk.
The identities present in smartphones and tablets can allow your service provider, manufacturer, and Wi-FI service providers to reach you.
Here are the other ways to gather your personal information:
Though you will learn how to get your personal information off the internet, we believe it is wise to help you protect it first. Read the post till the end for that.
You all know how important it is to prevent a situation beforehand than to find a cure later. So, before you go ahead and look for ways to deal with issues, here is what you can do to safeguard your personal details:
Sharing online can risk your personal information. That’s why you should be careful about whoever is learning about your social media posts. You must also be careful while sharing your location, birthday, and other details.
Alright! Let us start with a phishing scam. Cybercriminals often try to sneak into your inboxes pretending to be someone else. They might have a different email address or even make minor blunders like spelling mistakes.
You must also install anti-virus or anti-spy software to save yourself against other cyber attacks. Before you enter your personal information on any site, look out for the website’s security. Seek a lock symbol at the beginning of the URL.
Yes, it is easy to find how you can get your information off the internet, but why even reach the state you would need to do so? Use a VPN or virtual private network beforehand. It leverages encryption, creating a safe connection instead of the unsecured infrastructure of the internet. It can safeguard corporate data and handle user access to the data.
Free WiFi can cost you a lot, as many public networks do not have many security measures. Several other users also use the same, which means they might be able to access your network. So, connect to a secured network or rely on your home network.
Make the best use of your creativity when setting the password. You can keep something absurd, hard to remember, or anything beyond your birthday or numbers. Include toggle cases, symbols, and numbers, and remember to change them regularly. Do not keep the same passwords for different handles.
Read Next: Surfshark Incogni Review
These were ways to seek precautions against cyber threats. Now, let us come to ways you can remove your online information, using removal services like incogni.com. But, how is it to help you? Let us find it out in this incogni review.
Data brokers do not break a sweat to gather your personal information and can instead count on public records and other details. The info they gather can include social numbers, physical addresses, etc. Your information can be put into use for marketing, recruitment, health, financial, and other purposes. And that’s what can bring you phishing attempts and scams.
While registering, Incogni would request little details, including name and location. Incogni offers data removal services, protecting online privacy and security. The software does not take plenty of personal information and works without much detail of yours. It has information about the leading data brokers whom it requests to remove your information available online. Incogni connects with the data brokers that are most likely to have your personal details. Incogni starts by listing them and then sending the removal requests.
Incogni serves as the middleman between you and the data brokers. The platform offers the flexibility for the users to oversee the potential databases and request status. As the brokers might gather your details again, Incogni will approach them another time, asking for the removal. Fortunately, your subscription can get covered, and you can avail it of at a decent price. Their subscription starts at 6.49 USD per month.
Thinking about how easily someone can access your details can be scary for anyone. And there is not just one method for data breaches and brokers to fetch your information. From a random application to a website, there are different ways that can sabotage your data privacy. Fortunately, you can deal with them and keep these data threats at bay.
In this post, we have emphasized different aspects of data privacy, security, and protection. You learned about how someone can breach your data privacy, what precautions you can take, and how to remove your personal details surfacing online. We hate to leave you with half details, so we have also told you about incogni.com.
Incogni reaches data brokers for you and requests them to remove your details. Hence, it hinders your personal information for various purposes. We have also prepared a quick review of incogni to help you know how it works.
I'm Rahul Manchanda, content writer and seo engineer , I love Photography,travel and nature. I'm working as a writer and blogger with experience of 10 years until now.
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