ESET shared its recommendations for deleting traces left on the Internet for cyber security purposes. There's no surefire way to remove something once shared in the world, but there are a few ways you can remove any traces you've left.
Searching for yourself on Google is one way to discover a small part of what the internet knows about us. More importantly, this is our only method to find out if we should ask Google to remove relevant personal data that should not be explicitly shared.
In April 2022, Google added new options to remove information that could be used to identify you, including certain data such as ID numbers or pictures, bank details, personal information, and hospital records.
How can you delete yourself from the internet?
Here are the ways to delete traces left in the online world, as explained by ESET;
1-Search yourself on Google. First of all, you need to know how much information there is about you on the internet. Search for your name, check the results on the first five pages, and search for your name along with your phone number or home address to see what comes up.
2-Check the privacy settings of the services you use. Some platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have privacy settings that prevent your content and contact information from appearing in search engines.
3-Contact the owner of the website. If you want to remove a certain data on another website, request it from the owner of the website. Many websites provide contact information under the "Contact Us" option.
4-Delete anything unnecessary. Many of us post too much. If you're worried about what the digital world knows about you, start by deleting your old Facebook posts, tweets you dislike, or other photos you're embarrassed about. Privacy is as important to your friends and family as it is to you, so delete any photos you've taken with them.
5-Ask Google and Bing to remove your personal information. Google's new tool to remove personal information from search results after a few clean ups on yourself https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9673730 comes to use. Currently, Bing only allows removal of non-consensual images or old content with non-working links. If you reside in the EU, use Google's Right to Be Forgotten form and Bing's Search Block Request.
6-Think twice before posting. Now that you've overcome all these challenges, it's time to plan for the future. Your life in the virtual world continues; maybe you still want to use Instagram, LinkedIn or any other social media platform. This is perfectly normal. But with a little more effort, review your privacy preferences, choose wisely who can see your posts, and avoid posting unnecessary content that you might regret later.
7-Use a VPN tool. With this extra shield of protection, your connection will be encrypted while your location will remain confidential. First of all, this helps prevent hackers from getting access to your personal information.
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