Depends on the time you were born, chances are you have spent several decades online or have never known an offline world. Either way, the internet and its advertising giants know a lot about your life.
Amazon, Facebook, and Google all have heaps of data about you — including likes and dislikes, health information, and social connections — but they’re not the only ones. Countless confidential data brokers you’ve never heard of collect huge amounts of information about you and sell it on them. This data is then used by other companies you may not have heard of to push you to buy more things. On top of that, all your ancient web forum comments and unkind social media posts are still there, waiting to turn you into a milk shake duck.
At this stage, it will be difficult to completely remove yourself from the internet, but there are some steps you can take to remove more of it. Deleting personal information and deleting accounts is quite a difficult process, so it’s better to break it down into a few smaller steps and deal with them over time.
Opt out of a data broker
Collecting and selling your data is big business. In 2019, the US state of Vermont passed a law requiring all companies that buy and sell third-party personal information to register: 120 companies recorded their details. They include companies that build search engines to look up individuals, companies that process location data, and those that specialize in your health data. These companies collect everything from your name, address and date of birth to your social security number, your shopping habits, where you went to school and for how long.
Among the biggest data brokers are Acxiom, Equifax (yes, that thing), Experian, Oracle and Epsilon. Some, but not all, data brokers allow people to opt out of the processing of their personal information — this also depends on where you are in the world — but the process not easy. You usually have to contact them via email, fill out online forms, and provide additional identifying information.
The US-based nonprofit Clearinghouse Privacy Foundation has created a database of data brokers contains their email address, a link to their privacy policy, and information about whether or not they will allow you to opt out. There are 231 US companies on the list, which gives you an idea of how big the data brokerage industry is.
If you are covered by Europe’s GDPR or California Consumer Privacy Act, you can also submit a request to delete your data. Groups focused on privacy YourDigitalRights created opt-out forms for the 10 biggest data brokers to speed up the process of clearing your information. It’s probably best to start opting out of the biggest companies first.
Update Google search results
You can’t change the way Google displays your search results, but there are limited steps you can take to ensure that what’s displayed is up to date and removes harmful details, such as doxing attempts. If a site has been updated by its owner but it’s not reflected in Google’s search results, you can use its tool to remove outdated content. Google will update its search results for pages that no longer exist or are significantly different from the versions it previously indexed.
Google will also review requests to remove malicious content. If there are non-consensual pornographic images; fake pornography; financial, medical or national ID data; doxing; or pictures of children on the web then you can ask they will be removed. To do so, you will have to submit a form and provide proof of content.
