Seven Steps to Take Back Your Personal Information
No one can erase themselves from the internet. Anyone can make themselves much harder to find, and that is usually enough.
- 1. Search yourselfLook up your name, past addresses, and phone numbers. Write down every site that has a profile on you.
- 2. Opt out, in writingMost people-search sites have an opt-out process. Use it, keep a record of the date, and follow up if nothing changes.
- 3. Demand deletion, not just hidingAsk that your record be deleted and suppressed so it is not rebuilt the next time the site buys data.
- 4. Use Google's removal toolGoogle offers a "Results about you" request for pages that show your contact details.
- 5. Freeze your creditFreezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are free and block most new-account fraud.
- 6. Use separate email addressesKeep one address for accounts and another for anything public, so a leak in one place cannot be tied to the other.
- 7. Check again in a few monthsRemoved profiles often come back. Persistence is the only thing that works.
None of this is complicated. It just takes time, and most data companies are counting on people not to spend it.