Perhaps you’ve performed an online search using your name or someone’s flagged that there’s something online that you might not approve of – what can you do about it?  You don’t have to suffer in silence, praying that no-one searches your name. The problem is, at some point, your name will be searched, and the Internet captures a lot of information, from negative reviews (if you have a business) to comments on social media networks, even your shopping habits.  In fact, your payment information could even be online without you even realising it!

There are lots of reasons why someone might search you too. Whether you’ve applied for a new job, or maybe you’re being head-hunted for an exciting career move – it could be that someone’s been recommended your services, or even on a personal level, when you’re entering into a new relationship.  So, it’s a good idea to stay on top of what’s posted online about you! There are options to remove personal information from the Internet and CTRL+ALT+DEL will tell you about them.

Taking Back Control of Your Personal Information

You wouldn’t walk around sharing personal information with strangers that’s for sure.  However, inadvertently, that’s exactly what you’re doing when information is posted on the Internet without you knowing it’s there.  The first thing you need to do is find out what’s online about you.  Perform a Google search, use an “incognito” tab (a private tab) on your computer or MAC. This stops any tracking and disables the “autofill” feature on your PC.  You might be shocked at what you find.  You may find your spouse’s name (if you have one), your marriage date, where you got married, your parents’ names, your job role – even your salary information.  Now, search your image, what have you found?  Images of yourself, your family, things you’ve bought, Facebook photographs, Pinterest images and so much more.  Bet you’re sitting up and taking notice now!  It is an invasion of privacy!

Why Is All That Information Online?

We’re sure you’re wondering what all that information is doing there.  The truth is, when you sign up to a social media website – you waive your rights to your data privacy, and we bet you didn’t read the terms and conditions (hardly anyone does).   Even though we have GDPR laws in this country, a lot of what you see, you signed up for (without even knowing you did).  Obviously, the biggest danger is online fraud and scams.  If a criminal gets hold of your personal information and pieces together your name and personal details, they could stalk you, send phishing emails or even get hold of your money.

What Should Definitely Be Removed

There are certain things that absolutely must be removed when it comes to personal information online:

• Your full name, address, phone number and education.
• Your bank account numbers (and log in info – yes, it happens!).
• Usernames and passwords for websites.
• Health information.
• Insurance details.
• ID numbers, driving license, passport, National Insurance number.

Criminals access the above data when there are data breaches online – you hear of them on the news.  Hackers manage to get into databases and steal personal information, of course, social media is the easiest way for hackers to get hold of it.  Then there are Data Brokers, these are companies that collect data on people and sell it on.  The type of data includes names, dates of birth, telephone numbers, addresses, marriage records, criminal history, social media activity and more.  Next time you get an email from a business or service you didn’t sign up for – that’s because someone’s bought your information!  Social media is another method used to gather personal information.

So How Do You Remove Personal Information from the Web?

There are certain things you can do but you may not be able to remove every single thing online.  However, you can remove the important stuff! 

You Can Delete Your Social Media

You could delete your social media.  Yes, this is drastic and let’s be honest, most people use some form of social media. Plus it takes 30 days for deletion but don’t worry, you can keep your social media accounts just check the privacy settings and make sure they’re set to “only friends”, not even “friends of friends” and limit viewing of any past posts (Facebook especially).  You can even hide your profile picture from people that don’t know you and never, ever accept a friend request from someone you don’t know. 

You might just decide to delete or deactivate your social media accounts (deactivation means you can turn it back on whenever you want – deletion is permanent after a set period of time, usually a month).  Definitely remove those you don’t use.

How Many Unused Email Accounts Do You Have?

Delete any email addresses you don’t use.  Most people just have one or two main accounts – usually a work email address and a personal email address.  Consolidate if you have more than two, it’s easier to manage only a couple.

Do You Run a Blog?

If you run a blog, consider the details you’ve shared on it.  Perhaps your phone number or email address is visible?  Amend the blogs to remove anything you don’t want in the public domain and check other people’s blogs about you.  If there’s anything sensitive, you can ask them to remove the information.  They are legally obliged to do so, and if they don’t, then send a legal request to Google by accessing this form: https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905. This form is also essential for removing personal information Google has about you.  While it’s not 100% failsafe, it’s helpful to request removal.  Google will try to exclude your data from its results.

Next, Check Your Smartphone

Your smartphone or tablet is full of sensitive information about you.  Always check you have a password (make it a good one!) and use Face id if you can.  The apps you use collect personal information about you, including your location.  Check all your apps.  If they’re not from reputable companies that you know of, then you could be at risk.  How trustworthy are all of your apps?  Review the terms of use and privacy notices of any apps you’re unsure of and delete anything suspect.  Uninstalling the offending app isn’t enough – you might have to contact the app provider to request information removal, they are legally obliged to carry out your wishes.

Cookies – Not the Edible Kind!

Whenever you visit a website, you get a Cookie message asking you to accept or decline Cookies.  Now, Cookies track your web browsing.  You don’t have to accept Cookies (although you might not be able to easily view every web page on a website).  For security, it’s better not to but most people click on yes.  You can run security software to block online tracking.  This helps to reduce your visible browsing activity but won’t entirely prevent it because if you’re part of a network at work or you browse a school’s network that you’re part of – your habits will still be trackable.

Clear your Browser History

Click on your browser history, you’ll find everything – yes everything that you’ve done, websites you’ve visited, passwords, images, files etc.  If an online criminal got hold of your information, imagine the damage they could do!  Make a diary note to clear your browser history and delete Cookies once a week.  Ensure you use a decent quality security software system as well, to block attackers.

What if You Can’t Delete Your Personal Information?

All of the above sounds like a lot of work and yes, it takes time and you do need to stay on top of it. But what if you don’t have time, or you aren’t successful in removing personal information from the web?  What if businesses don’t comply and web forms don’t clear the data you don’t want “out there”?  What’s next?  Don’t worry, CTRL+ALT+DEL has you covered!  We take control of your personal information and ensure that there’s nothing dangerous or inappropriate online about you.  In fact, we’ll remove anything you want, efficiently and at an affordable price.  Why should people be able to gather information on you without your consent and put you at risk to online scamming, phishing, cyber-criminal activity – even stalking?  We’ll fix it for you!  Click here to get in touch today.