Is It Really Possible to Erase All Your Data from the Internet?

With the internet now a part of our daily lives, we are always leaving behind personal details wherever we go. From online shopping and social networking to professional networking and banking, we are leaving digital footprints everywhere. So, is it really possible to erase your digital footprint forever?

The notion of wiping your internet existence entirely may be appealing, but it's really not an easy task. Data that is posted online gets stored, replicated, and relayed out of your control. Sites, information brokers, and even search engines cache information, so deletion in its entirety becomes almost impossible. Even when you close an account, backups, cached pages, and third-party data gathering routines can keep your information around forever.

Some information must be kept on file for a time. For instance, financial organizations and health care organizations must keep on file for compliance with regulations. Further, government agencies will keep on file some personal information for security or legal purposes. Therefore, while you can limit your digital footprint, complete annihilation is most unlikely.

Although the complete removal of private data is not feasible, you can take a few steps to reduce your web presence and become more anonymous.

Begin by finding and shutting down duplicate or abandoned online accounts. Social networking sites, forums, and web shops are said to keep personal data even after you stop using their services. Shutting down or deleting these types of accounts can reduce your trail on the web.

Update and review privacy settings on existing accounts. Social networking sites, for instance, have features that permit users to limit who can access their information. Reducing visibility of your own information makes it more difficult for third parties to monitor and compile your information.

They harvest and sell individuals' personal data to businesses and advertisers. Sites such as Intelius, Spokeo, and Whitepages permit the deletion of users' data upon request, but it is a time-consuming exercise that needs to be done repeatedly.

Turning to private search engines like DuckDuckGo and browsers with tracking protection like Brave helps minimize data gathering. Encrypted messaging applications and email services are also beneficial to your online anonymity.

If your information finds their way onto the Internet, contact the webmaster of the website and ask them to take it down. Under some legislation, such as that in the EU with GDPR, individuals have a "right to be forgotten," where they can ask for online content they provided to be taken down. Additionally, professional data removal services can assist in contacting data brokers and websites on your behalf to request the removal of personal information.

For those who find themselves smothered by the do-it-yourself method, professional data deletion services exist. Incogni, DeleteMe, and OneRep, for instance, take it as their mission to make contact with data brokers on your behalf in an effort to get personal data deleted. Though these services are a time-saver, they typically accompany a subscription fee and cannot always guarantee total deletion of data.

Even after you've done all of these things, online privacy is an ongoing job. Whenever you sign up for a new website, post an update to social media, or go online to shop, information is generated. Periodic privacy setting checks, limiting personal data published online, and using privacy tools can help to minimize exposure.

Though completely erasing your whole online presence is not possible, minimizing the data you put online is possible with concerted effort. Taking control of privacy, applying privacy tools, and utilizing data erasure software can considerably minimize the prospect of unintentional data leakage. Web privacy isn't about being completely anonymous—it's about being in control of your own data.