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The lines separating our physical and digital identities have blurred with the explosion of mobile device adoption and online services, and it can be extremely difficult to stop the flow of information that leads to personal data belonging to you appearing online.  

There is an unimaginable amount of data available online about us, and although we can and should lock down our individual accounts, there are times we’ll feel compelled to take an extra step. One way to reduce our digital footprint and protect ourselves from being so easy to find — or impersonate — is to overhaul all the services we use and delete anything we no longer use. 

Also: How to delete yourself from internet search results and hide your identity online

Old shopping accounts, archaic social media profiles, mailing list subscriptions, and more can clutter our email inboxes and, over time, become annoying or embarrassing. Organizations that hold on to our data without cause need to be compelled to delete it. However, rather than trying to track the details of each service online that holds onto our data, services now exist dedicated to these tasks. 

What’s the best service for deleting yourself from the internet right now?

Based on our extensive research, ZDNET’s top pick for a service for deleting yourself from the internet is DeleteMe, which focuses on removing your information and taking it out of the hands of data brokers, sending deletion requests on your behalf, and for an affordable price. 

Below, you will find other interesting and valuable services that can help reduce your online footprint and remove your data from the internet in 2024. 

Also: Best VPN services

The best services for deleting yourself from the internet in 2024

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DeleteMe

The best service overall for data removal

DeleteMe has earned many positive customer reviews, and it’s easy to see why. This extremely user-friendly option will help you remove your sensitive and personal information from online sources and data brokers while saving you time. 

Once you’ve submitted your information, the organization will search for it online and send removal requests to third parties holding your data. A report will be sent to you outlining DeleteMe’s progress within seven days.

You can also take advantage of other features including email and phone masking. As a bonus, this service has recently expanded beyond the US and now covers areas including Europe and Canada.

DeleteMe offers a range of plans. These include a subscription for one person, for one year at $10.75/month, or two years at $8.71/month. Other subscriptions include a plan for two individuals, for two years, priced at $14.54/month. Family plans begin at $20.79/month. Many customers say the service exceeds expectations.

DeleteMe features: Data broker management | Data deletion request handling | Scanning | User interface | Privacy reports | Custom removal requests | Email and phone masking

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Incogni

The best service for handling data brokers

Surfshark’s Incogni is a great service for removing yourself from the internet and negotiating with data brokers. 

Once you’ve signed up, Incogni will send removal requests to a wide array of data brokers and enforce these requests using applicable privacy laws, including GDPR and CCPA. 

The company says that most requests are handled within eight weeks, although some may require action by the user. Incogni will also tackle shadow profiles on your behalf. However, reports can be limited and may not provide as much in-depth information as some users may want.

Regarding pricing, Incogni offers monthly or annual plans. If you opt for an individual monthly plan, you will pay $14.98/month. Or, if you want to pay every year, Incogni’s services will cost you $77.78, or $7.49/month. Family plans start at $16.49/month.

If you’re unsure how much information you need to be removed from the internet, you could opt for the monthly plan and consider a clean-up once or twice a year. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you find less related to you than you first believed, this service is a great try-before-you-buy option.

Customers say they feel the benefit through reduced spam calls — and that data is removed fast.

Incogni features: Data broker management | Data removal request follow-ups | Limited reports | Shadow profile detection | User education resources | Individual and family plans | 30-day money-back guarantee

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Kanary

The best service for family plans

Kanary is another excellent service for cleaning up your online information. Kanary will work on removing search links, data dumps, and sensitive information from the web, all while providing a 90-day timeline to handle most removals. 

Once you’ve added your personal data to a user interface or multiple profiles for family members, Kanary will review removal requests and start working on your behalf, although some requests may require manual handling. Customer feedback indicates that this service is reliable, reports are clear and concise, and the service represents value for money.

Kanary offers a deal for families. There is a basic, limited plan for free that includes a 14-day free trial of premium features, an individual plan for $15/month, or family members can be added to the $17/month premium plan for an additional $8.49/month (or $7.49/month on annual plans). 

Kanary features: User dashboard | Frequent scanning | Family plans | Data removal request management | Strong security standards | Personalized dashboards | Data broker management

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PrivacyBee

The best service for enhanced protection

PrivacyBee is another service that can track where your information is and act on your behalf to remove it from companies you don’t trust, as well as data brokers. 

This service allows users to identify companies they either trust or do not trust, and then PrivacyBee will work with these organizations to adhere to your privacy choices.

PrivacyBee will also check and monitor search results to remove sensitive information. Furthermore, users can download a browser extension displaying their data relationship with the companies they visit. 

The company is also able to remove you from marketing databases to reduce the volume of spam and mass emails you receive. 

Pricing begins at $197 per year, and as this is expensive as an up-front cost, this may deter some customers. Still, reviews suggest that the service is secure and thorough.

PrivacyBee featuresCompany checks | Data deletion | Data broker management | Privacy browser extension | User dashboard | Mass marketing opt-outs | 24/7 monitoring | Search engine cleanup

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Reputation Defender by Norton

The best service for businesses

Reputation Defender by Norton is a tailored service offered to individuals, professionals, executives, and businesses. 

This service differs from our other recommendations as a personal offering that focuses on managing and cleaning up reputations, which could include online data removal and deletion of information held by data brokers and people-search websites. 

Norton’s offering includes data management, reputation management, personal branding assistance, privacy alerts, regular scanning, and search result management. 

Prices for Reputation Defender by Norton are available upon request as cases are personalized and depend on your circumstances. The company offers users a free consultation, and customers say the support team can handle sensitive situations well.

Reputation Defender features: Personal service | Reputation management | Personal branding | Search result monitoring | Data deletion | Personal consultation | Privacy threat reports | Tackles news, articles

Reputation Defender by Norton

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The best service for deleting yourself from the internet is DeleteMe, which focuses on removing your information and taking it away from data brokers — and for an affordable price. 

Below, you will find some of the main features of each of our recommendations. 

Best data removal service

Price

Conducts data removal/opt-out requests?

Free trial?

Personalized solutions?

DeleteMe

$8.71+/month

X (scan only)

Incogni

$7.49+/month

X

x

Kanary

Free/$15+/month

✓ (limited free plan)

x

PrivacyBee

$197/year

X (scan only)

x

Reputation Defender by Norton

On request

X

The best service depends on your circumstances. However, they can benefit anyone’s situation, considering how often data breaches occur and how much of our personal information is now available online.

These are our expert recommendations for the best service for deleting yourself from the internet.

Choose this top data removal service…

If you want or are…

DeleteMe

To have information removed from search engines. You submit the information you want removed, and DeleteMe will do the rest.

Incogni

An affordable solution to protect yourself and your data. Incogni provides a one-stop-shop solution for data protection and management.

Kanary

Protection for more than one person. Kanary provides great value for families who want their personal data monitored online. 

PrivacyBee

To choose what companies you trust. PrivacyBee allows you to select companies you are comfortable with holding your data, as well as select organizations of which you want your information deleted from their records. 

Reputation Defender by Norton

A reputation manager. Reputation Defender is best suited to high-profile individuals and businesses that need constant supervision and reputation protection. 

When choosing the best services for deleting yourself from the internet, there are a number of factors we considered, including:

  • Price: While selecting the best services, we wanted to provide a range of options with different price points, including very affordable subscriptions and plans. 
  • Removal: We included services that can scan, monitor, and check online databases and data broker repositories for your personal information and then work on your behalf to have it removed. 
  • Protection: The services listed above also include protective features that may reduce the likelihood of personalized spam calls and phishing emails, as well as trolling, stalking, or identity theft. 
  • Frequency: We also ensure that our recommended services can conduct frequent scans on your behalf. While you may just want one check and deletion, our information is constantly changing hands — and this means that your data could reappear online eventually. 
  • Reports: The services we recommend will often provide reports with each scan to keep you updated on where your data was found, what has been deleted, and potentially what your next steps should be.

There are numerous steps you can take to stop your name from appearing in internet search results and through engines, including Google and Bing. However, it can be a complicated and time-consuming process. Below are some steps to help you get started.

  • Use a search engine: Your first action should be to type in your name, nicknames, and online handles into search engines. This step will reveal the information that anyone can easily find on you and can help you plan your next steps, including which companies you may need to contact to have data removed or what accounts to delete.
  • Lock down or delete social media accounts: Deletion is the nuclear option, but most social media platforms will have an option in settings to stop your profile from appearing in search engine results. As our profiles — even if they are publicly limited — can contain our photos, full name, and more, removing them from search engine queries can help reduce our online footprint. For step-by-step guides, visit Facebook (here), Instagram (here), and X — formerly known as Twitter — (here).
  • Delete old, unused accounts: Whether shopping, social media, or forums, each service you use — or have used — may tie your online identity together through your name, nicknames, or PII, all of which could be at risk if a data breach occurs. If you do not want to use a dedicated service, consider going through your email and password managers to find active accounts. You will need to access them and request removal manually. 
  • Clean up forum posts: Forums can often be overlooked, but if someone finds out the handles you commonly use, they may be able to find content connected to you — which could now be completely irrelevant to the person you are today, or embarrassing if exposed. Delete old forum posts and preferably remove your accounts entirely. 
  • Contact webmasters: If you have old accounts that do not have auto-delete features, contact webmasters directly to have your profiles and data deleted. This process will likely be easier if you are in an area covered by regulations such as the EU’s GDPR.
  • Request that people finder websites delete your information: People finder websites can be used as ‘search engines’ to look up someone based on their name, phone number, and other personal information, which can be a nightmare for privacy. Opting out and forcing the removal of your information from these organizations, which may buy this information from data brokers, can be a challenging process to perform manually as it may require contacting each service individually to negotiate. If these organizations prove to be difficult, deletion could also require an understanding of applicable privacy and data protection laws to enforce your requests. Consider using a service such as Incogni or DeleteMe to do the legwork for you.
  • Deactivate email accounts: Our email accounts tend to be the core platform that ties your digital profile together, but once they’re gone, they’re gone. When you are ready, delete your email accounts, which will break the common threads between your online services. However, only take this step if you are sure.

You can, although the process is limited and your request may be rejected if the company doesn’t believe there are grounds for removal. 

You will need to contact Google using this form, with the options being a request to remove information you see or to prevent information from appearing in Google search results. Removal requests can also be made for:

  • Exposed personal identifiable information (PII)
  • Explicit images, including adult content
  • Involuntary, fake pornography
  • Images of minors
  • Information from websites with ‘exploitive’ removal practices, such as those that demand payment

However, in some cases — for example, a request to remove links to law enforcement statements or media articles concerning an individual and a prosecution — Google may refuse as such information is in the public interest. If Google refuses, it will provide a reason for its decision. 

There are numerous ways you can protect your identity online. Experts recommend securing personal information, locking down your social media accounts to friends and connections only, using antivirus software, regularly updating programs and software, and changing your passwords on a regular basis. 

Furthermore, if you find ‘clones’ of your identity — such as a fake Facebook or dating app profile — ensure you report the fake account to associated online services.

If you suspect your data has been leaked online, use the Have I Been Pwned service to see if you have been involved in any data breaches. 

There are some basic steps to remove your name from social media. The first step would be to change it — choose a nickname or surname that isn’t linked to your true name. This should ensure that photos or linked content will also change. Switching all of your content to private can keep it away from search engines and individual search queries. You can also simply delete all of your accounts, and potentially file a Google request to remove content connected to you (although this is not always going to be accepted, especially if such information is considered in the public interest.)

The majority of search engines will log your search queries and some will use this information to tailor adverts and recommendations. If you want to keep your search queries hidden, we recommend using DuckDuckGo, which offers a free search engine that does not log your activities — or, for extra privacy, use its browser. 

There’s no easy way, and unfortunately, it is often outside of our control. You only need to look at HaveIBeenPwned to see the vast troves of data posted online due to company data breaches to understand the severity of the situation — and taking our records out of this quagmire is typically not possible. 

Instead of chasing removal, the best thing you can do is to see what information has been leaked and make it redundant. For example, if an email and password combination for an online service has been exposed, change it immediately for that service — as well as any other platforms using the same set — and never use that combination again. Using multi-factor authentication can also prevent your online accounts from being compromised. 

While the services above for deleting yourself from the internet are ZDNET’s top picks and are what we consider to be the best solutions on the market, there are many other options available. Here are other choices that might suit what you’re looking for. 

View at MozillaView at NortonView at OpteryView at Your Digital RightsView at OnerepView at EasyOptOuts



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