Are you looking to delete your personal information from the Internet due to some threat to your online privacy or any issues related to Internet security? Then let us find here some simple steps to help you do so without wasting time.
You know quite well that everything has its own set of pros and cons. And as netizens, you will also agree that the Internet too is not without its boons and banes. The beauty of the wonder named the Internet is that it is a window to the whole world. We can communicate with anyone in the world, thanks to this amazing bounty of technology.
Talking about its cons, availability of your personal information to almost anyone and anywhere may make you vulnerable. It can pose a threat to your online privacy. You may feel that your internet security is not up-to-date. Your name, personal email ID and address can be easily found by fraudsters and this can spell big trouble for you. Even your credit card details, bank information and other personal documents can be stalked leading to huge financial loss.
That’s not all. You know well that the advent of technology brings along the risks associated with its usage. Consider, for example, 5G phone technology that has already taken the world by storm. However, it also can put your personal information at a security risk. And many of you must have met with such internet security bloopers due to breach of data from social media applications. All this have made you feel the compelling need of safeguarding your online privacy by deleting your personal data from the Internet. Right?
Once you take a decision to delete your personal information from the Internet, the question that often pops in many minds is-whether my personal information will still be available to firms? Well, the answer is a big ‘yes’. Indeed, the fact, inadvertently, is that you cannot delete your personal data from the Internet. You can, however, to some extent, make its availability restricted.
But keep in mind that taking such a step will limit your access to employers or recruiters looking to hire you. Nonetheless, it is entirely your sole decision. So, if, at any point of time, you have some issues related to internet security or find our online privacy at stake, then you can decide to take our personal information off the grid.
So, let’s find out how to do it, right here, right now. Here we go——-
- Delete your social network and shopping site accounts—First and foremost, you need to make a list of your different social network accounts. So, whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or any other site, you must immediately deactivate and delete your accounts on these sites to safeguard your online privacy.
Apart from social network sites, you must have made your accounts at some shopping sites as well. If yes, then you also need to deactivate and delete such accounts whether they are at Amazon, eBay, Snapdeal or anywhere else. Only then you can minimize any threat due to limited Internet security.
To deactivate and delete your account, you have to move to your account settings. Here, you will see an option to delete or remove your account. Meanwhile, you can always go online for help if you face any difficulty in deleting your account. Another clue is that you can give any random information if you are unable to delete your account due to some issue.
- Delete your personal websites or blogs—Do you have any personal websites or blogs? If yes, then you also need to delete them at the earliest if your online privacy is being breached. You should close any forums on different sites. It is quite simple to delete your personal website. For deleting your personal blog, you need to request the webmaster of such sites by visiting the ‘Contact Us’ or ‘About Us’ section.
However, you must be wary of providing any private or sensitive information about you in your personal blogs or websites; otherwise, you may land into trouble any time.
- Make a request to sites having your personal information–Make sure to enquire from your cell provider or mobile company whether you are listed online. If yes, then you can request them to delete your name. Alternatively, you can access the services of like Nuwber to see whether your personal information is available online. Once you know which site is having your personal information, you can request them to delete it at the earliest.
- Delete all needless apps– Remember, having unnecessary or redundant apps on your tablet or mobile phone can make your internet security vulnerable. This is especially true for apps collecting personal information or looking to hack information from your devices or even your Google account.
Such apps could steal not just your name or email ID, but also track sensitive information including geographical data, place where you are travelling and so on. Such information can be passed over to third parties posing a great threat to your online privacy. Hence, you must download only those apps which are 100% safe and reliable. You can request the company to delete your personal information from their servers and then delete all such apps from your devices.
- Seek help from Google’s request tool—You can request Google to delete all results having your personal data. You can take the help of ‘Google removal request form’ (a tool for URL removal) to remove your personal details from Google search results. However, this does not give a 100% guarantee.
- Deactivate and delete your email accounts—Last, but not the least, is the most important step of deleting your email accounts. Yes, this should be your last step as you need to use your email account for undertaking all of the above-mentioned steps. You can easily see the option for deactivating or deleting your email account.
All said and done, please have patience as all such steps may take time to get implemented. Here’s wishing you a happy and safe online privacy!!!