Hello guys, today I am back with one more interesting topic on how to remove personal data from the internet. This guide will be helpful for those who get annoyed with the online marketing calls and emails that try to sell some unwanted stuff. If you are reading this guide you might be looking to go private instead of public. Without wasting any time let’s get to know about it.
1. Make your Social accounts private else delete
Before we start, the first thing we have to do is to make our social accounts private. Data like mobile number and email are easily accessible if your profile is public. Companies, data brokers collect data of a person mostly by the use of scraping technique. They simply scrape the profiles with the use of some data scraping tools as well as manual collection. These tools will fetch details like Name, Email, profile pic, address from the profiles.
If you make your social account private there is a less chance for these tools to gather data. Even if humans are employed to collect data they will fail to collect. In case if you are using Facebook here’s a guide I wrote earlier on How to lock your Facebook profile. You can simply follow this guide to make your profile private. If you think your data is still getting accessed then simply delete that profile in case if you want to go private.
2. How to remove personal data on blogs and websites
While most of the blogs won’t publicize their user database but in case of a data breach by a fraudster, your details will get public. Any sensitive information like Name, email, address, Credit card and bank account details will be sold online. In such a case, you need to contact the webmaster and ask him to delete your sensitive information after a sale or purchase from that website.
Also don’t save a credit card in the shopping websites. You can take legal action against the owner of the website if he refuses to delete your details. If you have participated in an online survey program or entered your personal information in a data collection site then opt-out from it.
In case if you own a blog or website and want to go private then you have to delete that blog or website. I think bloggers and website owners know better than me. If you are unsure whether your details are online or not you can verify by simply doing a quick name search in the websites like Spokeo and people finder.
3. Remove personal image from internet
If your image is available online you can contact the webmaster of that particular website where your image was published. In case if the publisher doesn’t remove the image you can file a case against him. Google is the most used search engine worldwide. If you find your image in the search results you can contact google and urge them to take down the image from the search results.
Also, copy the URL of the image link and then contact Google and ask them to remove the image. Google will surely help you if show the legal copy which you have filed against the publisher. You can find more information on the google support page. Google will take down the image for sure.
4. Accept cookies only if required
Companies use cookies to collect user information and monitor their behaviour online. With the help of browsing history, the user intent and his behaviour can be guessed. If you are looking to buy a product online, ads regarding the product from different brands will pop up. This is possible with the help of cookies. These cookies will be active for 1 minute, 24 hours and even 30 days.
Also Read: Windows photo viewer can’t display this picture issues
Fraudsters will also make use of these cookies to gather your personal information and other financial details. They will do whatever they want in order to get some bucks. They can even sell your data to others. Make sure that you accept cookies from the trusted sites only.
5. Don’t install apps from unknown sources
If you are a mobile user make sure you don’t install apps from unknown sources. Once after you install an app it will ask you to allow for the access to your contacts, photos and much more. Always try to install apps from known and trusted sources.
Mobile phones usually won’t allow installation of apps from unknown sources. There is an option where you have to enable installation from unknown sources. I suggest you refrain turning this option ON.
Final Word
Someone said it and said it right. Prevention is better than cure. In order to remove personal data from the internet, first of all, you should not share your data on the internet. Use VPN and incognito mode in order to protect your privacy. Install internet security and anti-virus software on your PC and Tablet.
If you don’t want to all this hectic process of removing personal information from the internet you can hire an agency. There are many agencies that remove personal data from the internet on behalf of you. They will charge some bucks and your work will be done.
If you got any problem, queries or suggestions do let me know in the comments section below. I will get back to you as soon as possible. If any of your friend or relative doesn’t know how to remove personal data from the internet or in need then simply share this article with them sharing is caring.
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