11 Ways To Delete Or Hide Yourself From The Internet - And Protect Your Privacy

4 days ago

10 tips to delete yourself from nan net (and hide yourself online)

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ZDNET cardinal takeaways

Your online footprint is bigger than you think.
Personal information tin resurface agelong aft you delete it.
True integer privateness takes changeless attention.

Keeping a tight lid connected nan online information connected to you, your life, and your habits is becoming progressively important -- and difficult.

A PC, mobile device, aliases moreover a smartwatch pinch an net relationship allows america to enactment connected pinch friends and family, work, enactment entertained, show our wellness and habits, and grip our finances. But benefits aside, really you correspond yourself, and really others spot you, connected societal media and different online platforms tin person a existent effect connected your profession prospects, reputation, and relationships.

Also: Best VPN services 2025: Our apical picks for velocity and security

A misjudged tweet from years ago, an inappropriate Facebook photograph tied to your name, an embarrassing video, aliases a arguable TikTok tin person real-world consequences. That's not all: Marketers perpetually invade your privateness by scraping publically disposable accusation connected you, your nationalist profiles, and your hunt history for targeted marketing.

You whitethorn besides request to swipe nan slate cleanable owed to maltreatment aliases stalking.

While it tin beryllium astir intolerable to region your integer footprint, location are tried and tested steps that tin thief you return power of your privateness and data. Follow our guideline beneath to find retired wherever to start.

1. Run a Google hunt

Google's hunt motor provides links and website addresses to users successful consequence to hunt queries, but unless nan correct controls are successful place, your hunt queries tin beryllium cataloged for trading purposes. On nan different hand, Google tin besides beryllium utilized to uncover precisely what accusation astir you is successful nan nationalist domain.

Also: How to region your individual info from Google Search - it's speedy and easy

Not each hunt motor will uncover nan aforesaid results. Try retired different hunt engines, specified arsenic Bing, for a much broad look.

Once you cognize what is online astir you, you tin commencement tackling nan problem. Run a speedy hunt for your afloat sanction and statement immoderate website domains that emblem you, societal media relationship links, YouTube videos, and thing other of interest. You whitethorn besides want to cheque image results, too.

Tips for unafraid browsing and searching

To amended your privateness and trim your online footprint, forestall hunt engines from cataloging your queries. This accusation tin beryllium utilized to create a floor plan of your interests, merchandise choices, and more, which tin past beryllium sold to trading agencies.
We urge utilizing nan Brave browser for nan champion unafraid browsing experience. DuckDuckGo -- disposable arsenic a browser aliases a hunt motor -- is besides an fantabulous prime to forestall individual information collection.

Check retired our recommendations: The champion unafraid browsers for privacy: Expert tested

2. Check ChatGPT

You tin inquire nan AI chatbot what accusation is publically disposable connected you. The AI chatbot isn't ever afloat reliable, but it tin springiness you an overview of what accusation is floating astir nan net and tied to your sanction -- and this whitethorn see your career, education, blog posts, images, and more.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's genitor company, revenge an April 2025 suit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights successful training and operating its AI systems.)

Also: How to usage ChatGPT: A beginner's guideline to nan astir celebrated AI chatbot

While you will output amended results pinch hunt engines, this measurement is besides worthy taking.

3. The correct to beryllium forgotten

In nan EU, citizens tin petition nan removal of accusation from Google hunt results. After filling successful this form, requests are reviewed by Google labor connected a case-by-case basis. You must supply nan circumstantial URLs you want to beryllium delisted, hunt queries related to these URLs, and you must explicate why nan tech elephantine should work together to your petition pinch a coagulated statement and evidence.

The much accusation you tin provide, nan better.

"Broadly, nan reviewer will see whether and really nan accusation whitethorn beryllium successful nan nationalist liking and measurement this against your authorities nether nan applicable information protection law," Google says. "There are respective reasons why accusation whitethorn beryllium successful nan nationalist interest. As portion of nan balancing exercise, Google looks to a number of different sources, specified arsenic nan guidelines developed by European information protection regulators."

Also: I recovered nan easiest measurement to delete myself from nan net - and it's fast

Google adheres to nan information protection laws successful your area but whitethorn not judge each petition to region links astir you.

Reasons fixed for refusal see method issues, copy URLs, accusation deemed "strongly successful nan nationalist interest," and whether nan contented connected a web page relates to master life, past convictions, activity positions, aliases self-authored content.

At nan clip of writing, Google has received astir 1.88 cardinal delisting requests and astir 7.4 cardinal URL delisting requests. Over 3 cardinal URLs person been delisted aft review.

If you are a resident of nan U.S. aliases elsewhere, you whitethorn beryllium capable to request that constricted information beryllium removed from hunt results, specified arsenic telephone numbers aliases location addresses that could beryllium utilized for personality theft and whitethorn person been leaked done doxxing.

See if you person nan correct to beryllium forgotten

4. Visit Have I Been Pwned

You can't power your integer footprint without knowing wherever and what accusation concerning you is stored. But conscionable arsenic important is knowing whether immoderate records connected you person been leaked online.

The Have I Been Pwned service, tally by cybersecurity master Troy Hunt, tin beryllium a useful instrumentality for determining whether immoderate of your relationship accusation has been compromised aliases included successful a information breach. Considering really communal information breaches now are, it's likely.

Also: Your logins could beryllium among 180M conscionable added to Have I Been Pwned - really to cheque for free

If you find an email reside aliases telephone number of yours has been "pwned" -- successful different words, you person been linked to a information breach -- cheque to spot what leaks you are progressive in. There will beryllium a connection on nan lines of, "Oh nary -- pwned! Pwned successful 9 information breaches and recovered nary pastes."

Don't panic. The mostly of america will beryllium connected to a information breach. Instead, attraction connected changing immoderate passwords you person utilized connected compromised accounts, arsenic they are now susceptible -- and guarantee you aren't utilizing them for immoderate different services.

You won't beryllium capable to do overmuch astir nan information leak itself, but it could besides service arsenic a reminder of nan online accounts you've opened but nary longer use. Consider deleting immoderate accounts you nary longer need.

Run your specifications done nan Have I Been Pwned service

5. Run a Google information checkup

Visit your Google Account page, wherever you tin find galore settings to boost your privacy, trim information collection, aliases region yourself from nan ecosystem altogether if you usage services specified arsenic Gmail aliases Google Search.

Privacy checkup: The Google Privacy checkup allows you to show Google to extremity redeeming hunt queries and your location history.

You tin take to disallow Google from redeeming web and app activities, Chrome history, sound and audio, and different data.

Google includes a YouTube history autodelete usability that lets you petition that immoderate YouTube logs older than 3 months beryllium automatically wiped.

Also: Your Android phone's astir captious information characteristic is turned disconnected by default - really to alteration it ASAP

You tin besides take whether to let Google to usage your accusation for tailored advertizing and what you want to hap to nan information successful your relationship if it goes inactive.

Security checkup: The Google Security checkup tin show you which devices tin entree your account, including laptops, PCs, and handsets. You tin besides find a database of third-party applications that person been granted support to entree your account. Revoke permissions arsenic necessary.
Download your data: To find retired precisely what information Google holds connected you, caput complete to Google Takeout. You tin download an archive of your information, including entree logs, almanac records, Chrome data, Drive files, and more.
Delete me: Found nether Account Preferences, Google's deletion service tin beryllium utilized to delete prime products aliases region your relationship entirely. You tin besides download a transcript of each your data.
Personalized ads, hunt results: If you want to instrumentality pinch Google's hunt engine, you tin still inquire nan institution not to show you results based connected information associated pinch your Google account. In addition, you tin inquire for nary personalized ads.
Quick tip: If you precocious upgraded your phone, tablet, aliases different instrumentality and nary longer usage your aged one, make judge you motion retired of immoderate and each accounts, aliases they whitethorn beryllium compromised if that instrumentality falls into nan incorrect hands.

6. Use a information removal work

Data brokers are different measurement for your accusation to extremity up online aliases successful nan hands of companies without your definitive consent -- and, acknowledgment to scraping, bots, and automated information collection, attempting to power this manually is very time-consuming.

However, location are fantabulous online services that will support your accusation retired of nan hands of information brokers.

One of our favorites is Incogni, operated by Surfshark. This information removal work is hands-off, doesn't require immoderate method knowledge to use, and automatically sends removal requests connected your behalf to U.S. information brokers and beyond.

After putting it to nan test, I recovered that it quickly removed entries containing my PII and continually enforced deletion done automated requests -- an basal facet of staying retired of information agent databases, since thing is stopping them from reacquiring your data. Incogni besides asks that its users beryllium placed connected suppression lists, which whitethorn thief forestall their accusation from reappearing connected group hunt websites aliases successful information agent systems.

Also: Incogni vs. DeleteMe: I compared nan 2 champion information removal services, and there's a clear winner

Custom removals for targeted websites aliases URLs are besides available.

We've compiled a database of nan champion services that tin thief you region nationalist hunt results, records, and unit organizations to comply pinch information protection laws and delete your information. Alongside Incogni, we besides urge services, including DeleteMe.

Also: The champion information removal services of 2025: Delete yourself from nan internet

7. Lock down your societal media

Your societal media accounts, including Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, are golden mines afloat of delicate data. If you are superior astir deleting yourself from nan internet, you request to either fastener them down aliases delete them. Here's how.

Also: How to delete Facebook, Messenger, aliases Instagram - if you want Meta retired of your life

Facebook

In nan Settings tab, you tin download each of Facebook's accusation connected you. In nan Privacy tab, you should restrict your posts to "friends only," limit your past posts, and determine whether to disallow lookups utilizing your provided email reside aliases telephone number.

You besides person nan action to region your Facebook floor plan from hunt motor results extracurricular of nan societal networking platform. Under nan Location tab, see turning disconnected Facebook's location information collection, too.

If you look astatine Apps and Websites, you tin spot what is connected to your Facebook account. If you take to delete these, Facebook tin besides automatically region posts, videos, and events that nan connected work has posted connected your behalf.

I would besides propose you sojourn Settings > Camera rotation sharing suggestions and move this characteristic off, arsenic it allows Facebook to publication your camera rotation to make sharing suggestions.

X

In my opinion, Twitter, now known arsenic X pursuing Elon Musk's acquisition, has mislaid galore of its useful information and privateness features. Nonetheless, if you're still connected Twitter, caput to nan Settings tab to download an archive of your data, restrict your posts, aliases delete your account.

Pay observant attraction to nan Data Sharing and Personalization section. There, you tin negociate advertisement preferences, information sharing, and whether to let X to usage an "Inferred Identity" to personalize your acquisition -- successful different words, an personality created done activity connected devices you person not logged into X with.

Bluesky

If you've moved from Twitter to Bluesky, spell to Privacy and Security to fastener down your account.

A characteristic you mightiness find peculiarly useful is nan "Logged retired Visibility" option. If you alteration this setting, Bluesky whitethorn not show your floor plan and posts to logged-out users.

Instagram

Facebook-owned Instagram has a number of privacy settings you tin besides alteration to support an acceptable level of privacy.

By default, anyone tin position your photos and videos connected your Instagram relationship unless you are a minor, successful which lawsuit your relationship should beryllium backstage by default. However, by going to your profile, clicking Settings, Account Privacy, and switching "Private account" on, you tin make judge your contented is only viewed by approved users.

TikTok

Under More > Manage Account, you tin take to make your TikTok relationship backstage aliases delete it entirely. You tin besides download an archive of your information.

If you spell to nan Ads tab, you tin negociate really ads are personalized, disable personalized ads entirely, and besides petition that TikTok clear immoderate accusation that advertisers person shared astir you. This process tin return up to 30 days.

Lock down your societal media aliases delete accounts entirely

8. Consider deleting societal media

Remove everything: A much utmost action is to delete each of your superior societal media accounts.

On Facebook, spell to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information, past click Deactivation & Deletion to deactivate it. This gives you nan action to return later and does not instantly delete your data. Your settings, photos, and different contented are saved, but your Facebook beingness will not look beyond unclickable text.

You tin besides permanently delete your account. If you person problem uncovering this setting, you tin type "delete Facebook" successful nan Help Center tab. You are fixed a grace play to alteration your mind and log backmost in. It tin return up to 90 days for contented connected your Facebook wall and successful your relationship to beryllium deleted.

Also: How to delete your X/Twitter relationship for bully (and protect your data)

To deactivate X, you request to click connected Your Account and past click Deactivate Your Account. Your relationship will beryllium deactivated for 30 days, and if you do not log successful during this period, it will beryllium permanently deleted.

On Bluesky, caput to Account, wherever you tin either deactivate aliases delete your account.

To delete your Instagram account, log successful and spell to nan request deletion page. Once you person submitted an reply arsenic to why you are deleting your account, you will beryllium prompted to re-enter your password, and past a delete relationship action will appear.

Over astatine TikTok, sojourn Privacy and Settings, Account Control, and click Delete Account.

Consider deleting your societal media accounts

9. Wipe aged accounts, websites, and blog posts

Is it basal to sphere what you had for meal 1 greeting successful 2020 aliases your reappraisal of a now-closed shop adjacent you? No.

Time and effort are required to comb done aged posts, but nan consequence is worthy it, and this whitethorn besides train you to beryllium much selective astir nan accusation you stock successful nan future. Unless nan relationship is 1 you usage frequently, see permanently deleting it.

It tin beryllium a symptom to find, remember, and retrieve credentials for aged accounts, but this is an basal measurement successful locking down your data.

Also: The champion password managers of 2025: Expert tested

To find your aged accounts, sojourn Have I Been Pwned, cheque nan lists of connected apps successful your Facebook and Google accounts, and, if you person a password manager, cheque it for nan credentials of accounts you person utilized since signing up.

You whitethorn person to manually log successful to each relationship you want to region and, depending connected nan service, either delete your accusation location aliases interaction nan work supplier to petition removal.

Justdeleteme.com is simply a adjuvant directory containing guides to removing accounts from countless online services and ratings of really difficult each type of relationship is to remove, ranging from "easy" to "impossible."

10. Hide yourself

If you cannot delete online accounts outright and tin only deactivate them, earlier you do, hide arsenic overmuch contented connected them arsenic possible. If nan relationship is nary longer applicable to you, see changing its sanction and individual details, and removing aliases replacing photos pinch generic alternatives.

When it comes to progressive accounts, specified arsenic connected Facebook aliases Twitter, anonymity aliases aliases tin thief support your integer and beingness beingness separate.

It is against astir position of work to usage a sanction different than your full, correct name, but it is still communal believe for galore to alteration their surname, astatine slightest to forestall activity and individual accounts -- and lives -- from colliding. You tin besides delete individual photos and alteration them to thing that doesn't place you.

11. Bonus: Use a VPN

A virtual backstage web (VPN) tin disguise your IP reside and create a backstage passageway betwixt you and online services. Data and connection packets sent betwixt a browser and servers are encrypted, which tin forestall eavesdroppers from harvesting your accusation aliases search your online activity.

There are services retired location that are some subscription-based and free. It is mostly amended to motion up for a paid VPN work if you tin -- no VPN work is genuinely "free" fixed nan costs of creating and maintaining nan infrastructure required to way traffic.

I urge NordVPN, ExpressVPN, aliases Surfshark for astir VPN users. They supply reliable, fast, and unafraid online browsing and streaming, and tin forestall you from being tracked online.

Also: Best VPN services 2025: Our apical picks for velocity and security

If you want to further anonymize your footprint, see utilizing nan Tor bulb router network aliases nan caller Mullvad Browser.

How do I limit what marketers nonstop and see?

Another measurement to support your integer footprint cleanable of debris is to abstracted online services betwixt email accounts. If you request to supply an email reside for a one-off purchase, see utilizing a junk email reside -- which will quickly capable up pinch promotional worldly but will support your superior email reside from being added to much trading databases.

For example, you could group up 2 Gmail accounts, 1 arsenic a superior and one arsenic a delegate for spam and imaginable junk.

What tin I do to delete embarrassing aliases definitive contented online?

You whitethorn person travel crossed embarrassing forum posts aliases messages that you do not person nan privileges required to delete -- aliases you whitethorn observe that delicate individual images aliases videos of you person been shared without your permission.

The first measurement you should return is to interaction organizations and webmasters directly.

When you interaction them, see a nexus to nan contented you are concerned about, springiness your reasons, and dream they work together to delete it. However, do not expect an contiguous response.

An objection to this is definitive contented and what is known arsenic revenge porn: If friendly images person been shared retired of spite, you will apt person much occurrence successful getting them quickly removed, particularly from societal networks.

It's important to effort to get nan images aliases videos taken down arsenic quickly arsenic possible, not only to trim viewership but besides to protect your intelligence health.

If you can, scope retired to friends and family and inquire them to study offending posts aliases email webmasters connected your behalf. If your images and videos person been uploaded to pornography services anonymously, however, you'll beryllium successful for much of a conflict -- and it whitethorn beryllium clip to get rule enforcement agencies involved.

If you are a U.S. unfortunate of online, friendly image abuse, you tin besides scope retired to nan Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

You request to investigation your section laws and find retired if nan personification posting your contented could beryllium prosecuted. For example, revenge porn successful nan United Kingdom is illegal, and location are cases of perpetrators being jailed. If you are a minor, please talk to a trusted genitor aliases guardian and fto them thief you.

What tin I do if things person gone excessively acold online?

Starting from scratch whitethorn look extreme, but it could beryllium worthy considering successful immoderate cases. The outright deletion of email accounts, societal media, and e-commerce services won't instantly destruct each of your information aliases hunt results connected to them, but it will, complete time, make them little apt to appear.

Just guarantee that earlier you return this irrevocable step, you person backed up immoderate information you want to keep, specified arsenic irreplaceable photos you uploaded to societal media aliases archive scans stashed distant successful your email inbox.

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