How to completely erase your digital footprint

The desire for privacy can be very strong – for some, even to the point of disappearing from the internet altogether. When this happens, even loved ones may find that someone’s online traces simply cease to exist. The modern environment, in which almost anyone can be found, makes disappearance an almost impossible task. With just a few basic identifying details, it is possible to find an address, phone number, family members and other personal information. This is a reality that is at the very least worrying, and often dangerous.

Many other sources of personal data contribute to this – photos on the company websites of former employers, class pictures from decades ago, or family reunion footage posted by a distant relative. Removing this data often requires uncomfortable conversations and persistence.

Once data lands on the internet, it is almost impossible to completely delete it.

Deleting personal data from search engines and intermediary websites

The most basic way to check your exposure is to search for your name on Google, along with terms like “address” or “phone number.” The results often reveal websites that publicly post personal information. While Google allows you to remove individual search results, this information remains on the original pages.

Much of the data ends up with data brokers – companies that collect information about individuals and then sell it on. Removing data from these companies is possible, but the process must be repeated for each one. There are also paid services, such as DeleteMe, that automate the sending of data deletion requests.

When reviewing such sites, outdated or incorrect information often appears: old email addresses, past and present addresses, incorrect ages, or incorrect connections to relatives. In the world of data brokers, people are often interchangeable, and data is often mixed up or misattributed to different people.

Using multiple data deletion services can remove much of the content, but not all. Some data brokers never delete the data, while others recover it over time and resell it.

A plan to erase your digital footprint

While data deletion services process information on intermediary sites, the next step is to pay attention to online accounts created in the past. This includes Facebook, Instagram, and many other platforms that the user may barely remember.

While complete account deletion is the most effective solution, there is also the option to keep accounts but remove identifiable content and personal information. This approach can make it more difficult for someone to impersonate the original owner of the accounts.

One method is to create so-called synthetic data – fictitious names, usernames, photos or profile pictures. Using the same personal information on different websites makes it easy to link accounts, so using unique, randomly generated identities is more secure.

Experts also recommend using masked email addresses. Apple Hide My Email and Firefox Relay create unique addresses that forward messages to the correct account while making it harder to track. Gmail also allows variations with a “+” sign, but masked addresses are more transparent and secure to manage.

It makes sense to remove personal content from each account – photos, comments, posts. This is both to reduce exposure and to erase online traces from years past.

Using a password manager can reveal how many accounts have been created over the years. Often, there are hundreds. For accounts that are a priority for deletion or cleaning, it's helpful to use services like Have I Been Pwned, which will show you if your data was involved in past hacks.

Dealing with old accounts

Many platforms allow for easy deletion. Others, like Patreon, Kickstarter, or Gravatar, can quickly disappear from the list of active accounts. But some prove surprisingly stubborn.

An example is Flickr, which may require identity verification by sending original versions of uploaded photos. LiveJournal can be surprising when old posts are exposed with the amount of content that has been forgotten, and the export is in spreadsheet form and requires manual deletion of posts – sometimes hours of work.

Automatic deletion on social networks

Cleaning up social media accounts can be extremely time-consuming. Twitter (X) is an example of a platform where the number of posts can reach tens or hundreds of thousands. Since manual deletion takes forever, there are tools like Cyd (Claw Back Your Data) that allow you to automatically delete tweets, retweets, likes, and messages. The process happens locally on the device without uploading personal data to the cloud.

Deleting posts can trigger nostalgic responses as images, posts, and life moments disappear one by one. However, for many, it is a crucial step in the process of reducing their online presence.