How to delete yourself from the internet
I feel lucky to have the job I do. Every day, I help folks stay up to date on tech and help solve all those digital-life problems Google just can’t answer.
And after all these years, I’ll toot my own horn a little and say there’s not much that stumps me anymore. I did get a question recently, though, on my daily podcast that had a not-so-happy answer.
Bob in Detroit asked how he can delete himself from the internet. Oh, Bob. You’re not the only one who has asked, and my answer is always the same: You can’t. There’s just too much out there about most of us.
But all is not lost!
One thing you can do is take back some of your online privacy. I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about people search and data broker sites before. They’re the online directories and marketplaces where all your data is packed up and sold off. The level of detail they get down to would shock you.
I’ve spent hours … and hours deleting my own info from these sites so I could show you how, too. The trouble is, the steps are usually pretty tricky to follow, they change all the time and, before you know it, they found another bit of data and added you right back. The cycle continues.
That’s why I want to tell you about Incogni. Before I could recommend it to you, I tried it out myself. The process took me a few minutes, and I was immediately opted out of 27 databases, with 47 more requests sent. Now I’m up to 151 sites — poof, my data is gone.
All you have to do is create an account and then enter your name and address. These sites require this info to remove your data — so you’d do that whether or not you use Incogni. Then, you grant Incogni permission to reach out on your behalf. After you finish the setup process, you’ll see a list of sites you’ve been removed from and pending requests.
It’s never been this easy to get your privacy back. I’m glad I let Incogni take care of it for me — and I negotiated a special deal for you to try it out, too.
Right now, get 60% off an annual subscription using code KIM60.
Tags: data, data broker sites, Google, Incogni, internet, online, online directories, podcasts, privacy, tech
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