This is how (and why) you should delete your personal information from the Internet | Top Vip News

Keeping your personal information secret online doesn’t have to be an arduous task; Consider it a personal mission to outwit Internet snoops. With a few smart measures in addition to Apple’s privacy protections, you can take charge of your digital footprint.

What you can do to protect your privacy online

Embark on an Internet expedition through search engines and social media environments to discover where your data is in the (unwanted) spotlight. Find a digital trace of yourself? Take note of those websites or profiles that display your personal details, then channel your inner educated enforcer and ask those sites to cover their tracks. It is time-consuming but doable, thanks to the fact that many websites have specific privacy policies and procedures for these types of requests.

Then there’s the curious world of data brokers: think of them as the charlatans of the digital world, eagerly swapping stories about you. They collect personal data such as your address, date of birth, phone number, and IP information, and use that information to send eerily accurate advertisements and the spam that clutters your real and virtual inboxes. Your data ends up in people searches, marketing, risk mitigation, or even scams and phishing attempts. That’s why you receive annoying unwanted calls.

For example, financial information brokers collect financial and background information and sell it to credit companies and banks. That, in turn, can influence loan eligibility. Additionally, health insurance companies may increase your rates based on your online activity.

Opt-out requests can seem like an endless game of tag, given their large number and persistence. It’s quite laborious and you would have to keep checking back, as data brokers can (and do) add you back to their databases.

An easier way to keep your personal data private

Here’s where you can bring in the secret weapon: a data erasure service like Incogniwhich was created by Surfshark cybersecurity.

Incogni overcomes the obstacles of data companies and adheres to each one’s particular deletion procedure. They do the tedious and frustrating work so you don’t have to.

They send opt-out requests faster than you can say “privacy please,” so you get efficient, continuous privacy protection. They make sure your data is removed from people search sites like WhitePages, FastpeopleSearch and UsPhoneBook.

Incogni handles additional interactions with data brokers, such as rejection appeals. And the best part is that Incogni restarts the entire process every two months to keep your data out of circulation.

AND 9to5Mac Readers, you will exclusively get 55% off Incogni’s annual plans using the code “9to5mac”.

You can cancel at any time and it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee. So there’s really nothing to lose, other than your online privacy.

Follow Incogni on Twitter here.

Image: Incognito