How To Delete Yourself From the Internet

Is It Possible To Completely Delete Yourself From the Internet?

If you’ve used any online service or app, the unfortunate truth is that you’ll likely never remove all traces of yourself online. Businesses and websites run on personal data and are highly incentivized to collect, store, and share yours. 

This goes beyond personalized advertisements. Your publicly available personal information is used by credit agencies to assess your creditworthiness, by potential employers and law enforcement when conducting background checks, and by data brokers who package and sell your data to other companies and individuals. 

While this makes it harder to delete yourself from the internet, with a bit of effort you can remove a good chunk of your online footprint. And the results are worth it. You’ll get: 

• Higher levels of overall privacy
• Lower vulnerability to scams and identity theft
• Stronger control over your public persona and reputation
• Fewer spam emails, calls, and text messages

The United States lacks a unified national data privacy law, meaning it’s up to you to take the necessary steps to protect your online privacy. Luckily, there are privacy-focused tools that can help you uncover, delete, and take down your personal data from public sources. 

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How To Delete Yourself From the Internet 

Completely removing yourself from the internet is further complicated by the fact that most websites and apps create temporary “caches” as well as more permanent backups. The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, for example, systematically takes and stores snapshots of billions of web pages over time. 

This means that even if you manage to remove your information from a site today, it may still appear in a backup or archive of that same page.

Instead of trying to delete everything, the better approach is to:

• Delete publicly available accounts that you control
• Remove or suppress personal information from search results and data broker sites
• Control the flow of data from websites, services, and apps that you use

Here are six steps you can take to remove as much personal information as possible from the internet.

1. Find where your personal data is exposed online

Before you can start removing your information from online sources, you need to know where your personal data exists. 

Your digital footprint is a collection of all of your personal information available online. This includes your contact details (phone number, address, email), online account usernames, financial information, court records, and other public data. 

Here’s how to analyze your digital footprint: 

• Do a Google search of your name. Put your full name in quotation marks (i.e. “Jane Doe”) and search. If other peoples’ information appears, try narrowing your search by adding your location or profession (i.e. “Jane Doe” + “Lawyer” + “Los Angeles”). Repeat this process on other search engines, such as Bing and DuckDuckGo, and use private or incognito modes for the most comprehensive results.
• Check for leaked data by using Aura’s digital footprint checker. Aura’s free tool uses your email address to scan listings, directories, and deep web sources and tell you where your data appears. 
• Do a reverse image search of your profile photos. Your face could be pulled into online information without your knowledge. Grab a selection of profile photos you’ve used over the years, and upload them to Google Lens and TinEye to see where else they appear online.‍
• Search for data housed in public PDFs. Your email, phone number, and other sensitive information could be housed in PDF files online. Use search engines to scan these documents specifically by searching for filetype:pdf “your name.” Replace “pdf” with other file types, such as “doc” or “xls” for a more complete search.  

This can be a time-consuming process. But it’s the best way to get a comprehensive view of all the places where your personal data lives online. It’s also a good way to find data “leaks” — which occur when companies share information that you thought was private. 

2. Delete or deactivate social media accounts

If you want to delete yourself from the internet, you’ll need to get rid of your social media accounts. Your profiles are not just stores of personal data; they can also be used as entry points for identity thieves and hackers who target profiles that have weak passwords and minimal security. 

Each social media network has its own process for deleting accounts. In general, you can find this process under your account’s privacy settings. Account deletion can take up to 30 days to complete and even longer for your stored data to be permanently deleted.

Here are step-by-step guides on how to delete your profiles and accounts on most major social media platforms: 

• Facebook
• TikTok
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Snapchat

Pro tip: Before you delete your account, download data, remove photos and posts, and delete profile information. This will limit the data that is actively stored in archive versions of your profile. 

Alternatively, most social networking sites give you the option to tighten your privacy settings and limit the information that others can see or find out about you. 

3. Opt out of data broker lists and people search sites

Data brokers and people search sites use data from public records along with online activity tracking tools to create and sell in-depth profiles of nearly everyone online. 

For example, Acxiom, one of the largest data brokers in the world, claims to have profiles on over 300 million Americans — each with more than 10,000 data points. 

People search sites like BeenVerified, PeopleFinder, Spokeo, and Whitepages use this data to create public “teaser” profiles that entice people to pay for full reports. This makes it dangerously easy for anyone to access your age, phone number, address, and workplace, which increases your risk of falling prey to scams, spam calls, and even doxxing — a form of harassment in which your private data is exposed publicly.

To remove your data from these sites:

• Manually request removal. Every site has a different process, but you can usually find it on “Do Not Sell My Info” or privacy pages. You’ll be asked to verify your identity and submit a formal request via an online form or email. If you’re having trouble finding contact information for a broker, check out the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse database. It contains the contact information for 750+ U.S. data brokers.
• Use opt-out providers. Aura’s data removal service, for instance, automatically opts you out of 140+ data broker lists. It continuously checks if your data reappears and resubmits requests on your behalf — saving you time and keeping your information safe. You can try Aura free for 14 days and start removing your data today.

Note for California residents: Starting in 2026, California residents will be able to submit automated deletion requests for free to every registered data broker through the state’s official Deletion and Request Opt-Out Portal (DROP). 

Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Vermont, and many other states have enacted similar laws granting residents the right to delete personal data from broker lists. Contact your Attorney General to see if there are any resources in your state.

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4. Remove sensitive data from search results (Google, Bing, etc.)

If your sensitive information appears on other websites, you’ll have to contact each one individually and ask them to remove it. However, search engines such as Google allow users to request that their information not show up in search results. This won’t delete the information, but it will make it much harder to find. 

Here’s how to remove your personal information from Google search results: 

• Make a list of sites that are hosting your sensitive information. These are all of the websites that you discovered in the first step of uncovering your digital footprint. 
• Submit a Google information removal request. This form asks you to specify the personal information you want removed (account numbers, credit card numbers, images of your signature or ID, government ID numbers, medical records, etc.). Google will follow up if more information is needed.
• Remove images from Google Maps. Google Street View can show your home’s exterior, your car make and model, and potentially even your license plate number. Search for your home address on Google Maps, switch to Street View, and then look at the photos of your property. Click on the “Report a problem” link at the bottom-right of the Street View image. Google will ask you to pinpoint what images you want to blur.
• Disable web tracking on Google. This will prevent your history and online presence from being shared with other services. Log in to your Google account, and then go to the MyActivity page. Select “Saving Activity” and turn it off. Click the “Other activity” tab on the left to turn off your YouTube and Timeline history.
• Use Aura’s data removal service. Aura can automatically send data removal requests to Google on your behalf, making the process much faster and easier. 

What about other search engines? You can report exposed personal information to Bing (European residents can also make a Right to Be Forgotten Request) or try contacting support at DuckDuckGo. 

5. Find and delete unused online accounts

Over the years, you’ve likely signed up for hundreds of online accounts across websites and apps. According to some reports, Americans have, on average, 100 different accounts. 

Even if you don’t actively use all of those accounts, they may contain sensitive data, such as your name, address, phone number, and stored bank account details or credit card numbers — data that could be made public if the company storing it is targeted by a data breach. 

Last year, AT&T disclosed that a data set containing personal details (including Social Security numbers) of 65 million former customers had appeared on the Dark Web after a massive data breach.

It’s a good idea to clean up your online accounts and delete your data from any you don’t regularly use. Here’s how you can find unused or forgotten account information: 

• Audit your email for account sign-ups. Search your primary email inbox for emails that contain common sign-up phrases, such as: “welcome to,” “confirm your account,” “new account,” “your new profile,” “validate your email,” “password reset,” and “unsubscribe.” Be sure to check your spam folder for these keywords, as well. Do this for secondary email addresses, too.
• Check privacy settings. Online platforms frequently change their privacy defaults, which means settings you might’ve turned off long ago may have reset without your knowledge. Run an audit every few months to stay in control of what information gets shared.

Pro tip: Use Aura’s Unused Online Account Cleanup tool. Aura scans your inbox to find unused online accounts tied to your email. The email scan shows you a categorized list of accounts found so that you can decide which accounts to keep or delete. 

6. Stop apps and tools from leaking or sharing personal information

Even if you remove all of your publicly available accounts, there may be some online services that you can’t live without. For these accounts, you’ll want to lock them down as much as possible to prevent personal information or activity data from being shared. 

How to lock down online services and apps:

• Review app permissions. On both iOS and Android, you can see what data each app can access. Open your settings and find the “Privacy” or “Permissions” section. Go through the list of permissions (location, camera, microphone, contacts, photos, etc.), and revoke anything that isn’t necessary. If an app truly needs your data, it will ask again.
• Disconnect linked logins. “Sign in with Google” or “Log in with Facebook” are convenient ways to sign up for third-party apps and sites. But linked logins share data; and if one platform is compromised, your data could get leaked. Use separate logins for each service, and store passwords in a secure password manager. 
• Disable automatic photo or file uploads to a cloud service (like iCloud, Google Photos, or OneDrive). Or, at the very least, set them to private. If your account credentials are ever compromised through a reused password, phishing, or data leak, attackers will gain access to every file that’s been synced.
• Remove unused extensions. If you use Chrome, you can see all extensions by typing chrome://extensions/ in your search bar. If you can’t delete an extension that you no longer use, wipe as much personal data from your profile as possible, remove stored payment methods, and delete any content. Disable any email notifications, and log out.‍
• Enable automatic software updates. Keeping your software up to date blocks hackers from using known vulnerabilities to access your device or accounts. Here’s how to turn on automatic updates on iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows.

Are There Data Protection Laws and Regulations? 

Yes, many countries and global organizations enforce data protection laws — however, the United States isn’t one of them. Yet, a Pew Research survey found that:

72% of U.S. adults believe there should be more government regulation of what companies can do with customers’ personal information.

In the European Union (and other countries, such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives consumers the right to access, correct, delete, and transfer their personal data. 

In the United States, however, there is no single federal law or regulation to control data collection and privacy. Instead, consumers rely on a patchwork of state and sector-specific laws and regulations — including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare data, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) for child data, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) for financial data. 

At the state level, Bloomberg Law reports that 20 states have some form of privacy laws in place, including California, Maryland, Delaware, and Oregon. Still, many of these laws are narrow in their focus, meaning that it’s largely up to individuals to protect their private information online. 

How To Stay Private and Safe Online

Even if you manage to delete your accounts and information from most online sources, your data can reappear over time. Apps and tools constantly scrape public records and track your personal information. Plus, new data breaches leak millions of personal details every year.

Use the following steps to help reduce your digital footprint and protect your privacy online:

• Clean up your “About” section on social media profiles. Remove personal details like your hometown, your pet’s name, and where you went to school. Cybercriminals can use that information to pose as you online or guess your security questions.
• Disable location tracking. On an iPhone, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to change location access to “While Using the App” or “Never” for each app. Don’t tag your location on social media, either. Thieves and scammers can use that information to figure out where you live and target you while you’re away from home.
• Turn off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. This will make it harder for fraudsters to track your phone or connect to your device without your permission. 
• Use privacy-focused tools. Brave, DuckDuckGo, and the latest version of Safari automatically block most online trackers. Wherever possible, do not accept a website’s cookies, and wipe your digital trail by regularly clearing your browsing history and cache.
• Update your privacy settings on social media. Only your friends or approved followers should be able to see what you share and comment on. Limited visibility prevents strangers from impersonating you or launching realistic phishing schemes based on your likes and interests.
• Use an email alias. Create a fake Gmail or Outlook email account and use it when interacting with sites that sell or share email data — such as with giveaways, online shopping, and other promos. If your alias gets hacked or flooded with spam, you can simply delete it. Aura makes it easy to create email aliases and forward messages to your main inbox without revealing your actual address.
• Fill some profiles with fake information. No brand needs to know your real name or birthday. Using fake information protects you in the case of a data breach and can also make it more difficult for hackers and data brokers to link your information across apps or services.
• Use an authenticator app. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second layer of security to your accounts. But one-time codes sent via text message can be intercepted through SIM swapping. Authenticator apps like Authy and Google Authenticator display time-sensitive codes directly in the app, making them harder to steal.
• Hide your browsing history with a VPN. Internet service providers (ISPs) and even hackers can spy on you when you’re online. Aura provides a military-grade virtual private network (VPN) to hide your data, browsing history, and even your IP address from prying eyes. 

Removing your data from the internet is not a one-and-done task. It requires ongoing digital cleanups — something most people don’t have the time to manage.

Aura does the work for you — with automatic data broker and Google search data removal requests, Dark Web and data breach monitoring for your personally identifiable information (PII), a secure VPN, ad blockers, anti-trackers, and more.