Delist and Delete Yourself Online
Becoming famous online seems to be an ongoing pipedream that a very wide age group is falling victim to. There are many different platforms to become famous on, but it usually takes skill, luck, and something uncannily special to reach levels of unimaginable stardom. Most of us however, never attain such levels of attraction despite oversharing and trying our best to be special online. This content is still available online however. Taking it down to avoid embarrassing questions down the road is probably for the best.
Aside from sharing things on social media, it’s important to clean up your personal accounts as well. There’s probably a bunch of things you’ve signed up for but never really used. Sometimes these accounts disappear and you can use the same email address to sign up again, but most companies prefer to keep your personal information in their hands as long as they can. Once you agree to their terms of service, it seems that you give them an unlimited timeframe to use your personal information. There is however, a way to end the agreement.
Deactivate, cancel, delete
There are options when it comes to your online accounts. Maybe you don’t want to use your account for a while. Putting it on hold or cancelling services you don’t need any more is probably the best thing you can do, aside from the nuclear option of completely deleting it. Deleting accounts you’re absolutely sure you don’t want/need is fine, but be prepared to put up a bit of a fight. Deleting yourself from the internet takes a little more than a few clicks unfortunately. Signing up is often easier than signing out forever.
Companies use new user accounts as a growth metric. New user accounts come with a lot of valuable data – namely, the personal information you input during the account registration process. This information is given to data analytic companies in exchange for money or other goods and services. Deleting your account removes your personal information from their servers, especially if you live in the European Union. Other countries with more relaxed data privacy laws keep your data on their servers as long as they legally can. If you’ve submitted a request however, you can rest a little bit easier.
There’s still the risk of a data breach exposing your personal information online however. Old data takes a while to be overwritten and thrown into the digital abyss. Some high-level specialists are able to recover this information, but in general, readily available data is more likely to be used in cyber-related crimes. It shouldn’t surprise you that this personal information from your exposed online accounts eventually ends up on Google or other websites. Wiperts can help you remove this personal information from the internet, or you can try going about it yourself.
Google probably doesn’t own that website
If it’s on Google, you can contact Google and report the offending content. You’ll have to figure out why and how the content you’re requesting to be removed should be taken down according to Google’s rules. Don’t be surprised when Google slowly responds or completely ignores your request. Google is one of the biggest companies in the world, and little people like you and I usually get lost in the bureaucracy. This is where Wiperts comes in – our team of experts knows exactly how to tailor requests in order to remove personal information from Google and other search engines. Having a team behind you is always better than trying to do everything by yourself. Save yourself time, money, and headaches by letting Wiperts take care of your privacy.
Keep in mind that Google is not the internet. Google points people to websites but often does not own the website. Think of Google as a direction giver. Just because Google is pointing people in a certain direction, it probably won’t get in trouble for simply providing directions. Whoever or whatever lies at the end of those directions ultimately has responsibility. Don’t worry though, Wiperts can help. Or you can go through the hassle of doing it yourself.
Even if the website is no longer listed in the search results, the website and its content is still there. Some websites you can directly contact the webmaster and politely ask if they’ll help you remove the offending page. There are two things you should keep in mind however. First of all, be nice – privately hosted websites in the United States are protected by the First Amendment. Unless if it’s sensitive information like your Social Security Number or driver’s license number, the website’s owner might get away with keeping it online. The best thing you can do in this scenario is to contact Wiperts. On your behalf, Wiperts will contact all relevant parties to get the content pertaining to your personal info removed. Or you can contact them yourself and explain why the content should be removed, which might end well or go nowhere at all.
Privacy settings
Change your privacy settings and Google’s search engine will slowly change over time to reflect your new privacy settings. Google often updates its search results. If the indexed page leads to a dead end, then there’s no reason to waste advertiser dollars and people’s time – Google will simply remove the content from its results. The cached screenshots of websites are also periodically refreshed, preventing people from seeing what a website looked like before the privacy settings changed. This takes time however.
Wiperts can help work with you to keep your personal information, including social media, off the internet. Removing it is one thing, but proving helpful tips and advice afterwards will help you in the future. Knowing how to keep your privacy online is a useful skill in today’s internet-connected world. Preventing a trail of internet footprints is the first step to covering your tracks and retaining your online privacy. Delisting and deleting yourself online might not lead you to internet fame, but a life without disruptions and internet drama is probably preferable anyway.
