How to remove personal information from the internet
This article was made possible thanks to our partner, Incogni, a leading data removal service. If you purchase through our links, we might receive a small commission.
Our lives are increasingly moving online, from social interactions to work, shopping, finance and health. That means there’s a vast amount of personal information about you out there, held on different servers around the world.
It would be nice to think that all of this information is securely safeguarded, but the reality is that data breaches are a fact of life. Your personal information could be for sale on the dark web right now.
The situation isn’t helped by “data broker” websites, which collect publicly available information to compile profiles of individuals. Yours could include your address and phone number, personal interests and demographics – and again, it’s available to anyone who’s willing to pay.
All of this online information violates your privacy, and it can be used by cybercriminals to target you for fraud. Here’s how to protect yourself from intrusions and threats by removing your online information from the internet.
What information is out there?
There’s probably more information about you online than you realise. If you use social networks, your full name may well be visible to the public, along with details such as your sex, date of birth, marital status and location. Your first step should be to check your privacy settings in every service you use; You can also audit your Google account settings at
There’s also plenty of private information that could be leaked through hacker attacks, shared documents or simple carelessness. This might include financial and medical records, employment details, property records and details of court proceedings you’ve been involved with. (more…)