Can You Delete Yourself From the Internet in 2024

Last Updated on March 22, 2024

Can you delete yourself from the internet? Lean about these 4 strategies to protect your online privacy and delete yourself online in 2024.

The Internet is filled with millions of pages of valuable information. You can use the Internet to search nearly any topic and find answers to nearly every question you can think of.

At the same time, the Internet is also filled with trails and breadcrumbs leading back to your internet footprint. It remains a permanent piece of the worldwide web whether the information is positive or negative.

This means that anything you post online or anything that is posted about you makes up part of your online “permanent record”. Anything from an unflattering Facebook photo to a negative news article will become a part of your online reputation.

How to Scrub Yourself Off the Internet

No matter how frequent or infrequent you use the Internet, someone is always searching for you online.  As of April 2023, Google has approximately 83.9 billion visits worldwide.

(Statista)

Even if you’re not looking for a job or can’t think of a reason for someone to be searching you, your information is out there and people are going to find it.

Whether it is a friend, family member, employer, or even an enemy, people are curious about other people and are always on the lookout for something new to talk about.

Here are four simple ways to help you improve your Google searches, and delete unwanted material from the internet:

1 – Turn Your Profile Settings to Private 

Public social media profiles are equivalent to public records, open to any and everyone. Keeping your social media accounts private is an easy and effective way to keep your personal information private, and away from the public.

Turning your account settings to private and only accepting followers you know personally allows you to better manage your audience, and limit the amount of your personal information online. 

Remove Personal Information

Your social media profiles and other online social networking sites can hold private information you might not even know is there. By removing your information like your email address, phone numbers, and other personal data, you greatly decrease your chances of a data breach or a data broker from accessing your information.

2 – Delete Your Digital Footprint 

Most people don’t realize that you leave a digital footprint everywhere online. Posts you like and things you comment all accumulate into what is your digital footprint, and depending on the type of content you engage with, it might lead to some negative search results.

Information from your public records are also likely online without your knowledge. People finder sites compile all this information (and anything else they can find online about you) and create a detailed profile on you. But, you can easily opt-out of FastPeopleSearch and other similar websites.

Most often, the negative content posted online is posted by the user themselves unknowingly. Doing a deep clean of all your social accounts is a great way to delete any negative digital footprint that might be stopping you from landing jobs, college acceptances, romantic relationships and friendships. 

Before posting any type of media on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, ask yourself if you would want your boss, significant other, teachers, and classmates to see that material as well. Posting material on your social networks should help promote your online presence instead of harm it.

Monitoring your social media accounts and deleting negative content is a healthy way to manage your reputation and your information from the Internet. Better yet, deactivate accounts you no longer intend to use.

3 – Build an Online Brand 

After deleting negative content, it’s also important to add new, positive, and supporting material. Creating a website, blog, and missing social media profiles that you might not have had before can greatly improve your online profile and delete any type of negative search results from Google. 

When people search your name or business, the first place they go is Google. Taking charge of your online profile and building an online brand can truly strengthen your online search results long-term. Taking the time to build a branded website and professional social media profiles can boost your brand and make sure your first page of Google results contains nothing but positive content. 

4 – Get Help from a Reputation Management Professional 

If you are faced with a personal reputation crisis that involves an overwhelming amount of negative content online associated with your name, enlisting in the help of a professional can be your way to a brighter future filled with new possibilities. 

With the help of a reputation management firm like Reputation911, individuals can permanently delete those pesky online search results that might be harming their online reputation. With the help of professional SEO search engine optimization tactics, content marketing strategy plans, and professional branding techniques, one is able to completely take control of their online search results for good.

About The Author

William DiAntonio

William DiAntonio is the Founder & CEO of Reputation911, a reputation management firm he founded in 2010 that has earned the trust of its clients for over a decade by helping individuals, businesses and brands control their online search results.