Online Presence Audit & Data Removal

Why

Your digital footprint grows continuously as new information about you appears online. An annual deep search helps you understand what’s publicly visible, track the effectiveness of your privacy efforts, and identify data exposed by third parties like data brokers. Proactive removal helps reduce your exposure to doxxing, identity theft, and unwanted solicitations.

Action

• Search Yourself:
  • Perform searches for your full name, common misspellings, and known aliases on major search engines (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo).
  • Search for your email addresses and phone numbers (use quotation marks for exact matches, e.g., “your.email@example.com”).
  • Search for your physical address to see what’s publicly associated with it.
  • Use reverse image search (e.g., TinEye, Google Images) for your profile pictures or other key photos.
• Check People Search Sites & Data Brokers:
  • Systematically check major people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, ZabaSearch) and data broker sites (e.g., Intelius, MyLife, Acxiom, Oracle Data Cloud).
  • For each site where your information is found, follow their official opt-out procedure. This often involves finding a specific opt-out page, filling a form, or sending an email.
• Review Public Records:
  • If relevant to your concerns, search publicly accessible online court records or local government databases for your information.
• Social Media & Online Profiles:
  • Review your own public-facing social media profiles to ensure they don’t overshare.
  • Check if you appear in others’ public social media posts or photos in a way that concerns you (request removal if appropriate).
• Professional Databases:
  • Search professional databases relevant to your field if they might contain publicly accessible personal information.
• Audit & Close Unused Accounts:
  • List all online accounts you can remember (email, social media, shopping, forums, apps, etc.).
  • Search your email archives for “welcome,” “verify your account,” or “password reset” messages to help identify forgotten accounts.
  • Review your password manager for saved logins to old or unused services.
  • For unnecessary accounts:
    • Log in and look for an account deletion or closure option (sites like JustDeleteMe.xyz can provide direct links).
    • Follow the platform’s instructions to permanently delete your account and associated data.
    • If full deletion isn’t possible, remove as much personal information as you can and consider changing to a disposable email.
• Document & Track:
  • Document all findings and the sites where your data appears.
  • Keep records of all opt-out requests submitted, including dates and confirmation numbers/emails.
  • Document the accounts you’ve closed or anonymized for your records.

Remember

Data removal from broker sites can be an ongoing battle, as data may reappear. Consider using a reputable data removal service (e.g., DeleteMe, Kanary) to automate and manage opt-outs if you find extensive information or lack the time for manual requests. Be persistent and regularly check if your opt-outs have been honored.