How to Remove Your Information from the Internet: 5 Steps to Reclaim Your Privacy

Ever wondered how much of your personal information is floating around the Internet? From old social media accounts to data brokers selling your details, your digital footprint is bigger than you think. If you’re concerned about privacy, you’re not alone. Whether you want to protect yourself from identity theft, stop companies from tracking your activity, or simply regain control over your online presence, knowing how to remove your personal information from the Internet is essential.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most effective steps to erase your data and keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

VeePN Research Lab

Mar 18, 2025

4 min read

How to remove your Information from the Internet

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Why having your personal information online is a risk

Your personally identifiable information online can be used in ways you might not expect. Here are some common risks:

Why having your personal information online is risky

🆘Identity theft. Cybercriminals who access your personal information including your name along with address and contact details can use them to impersonate you in social media and act online on your behalf.

🆘Financial loss. Your banking details and payment information exposed will lead to unauthorized funds transfer and drained bank accounts.

🆘Phishing scams. Cybercriminals exploit hacked email addresses and phone numbers to spread content and harmful links that force victims to reveal their banking details and other sensitive information.

🆘Reputational damage. Your reputation can suffer in case your private and sensitive information becomes public.

🆘Data breach. Companies and sites that store your data can be hacked, exposing your information to scammers.

🆘Stalking. Your personal information accessible through online sources and public records lets stalkers find you and track your activity to harass or blackmail you.

For those reasons, it’s essential to remove personal data from the Internet to keep the above-mentioned threats at bay.

5 Steps to remove personal information from the Internet

Take these steps to delete your personal information from the Internet:

Removal of personal information from the Internet

1. Delete unused online accounts and software

Old accounts hold a surprising amount of personal data. Search for accounts you no longer use and delete them. Websites like JustDelete.Me can help you find direct links to account deletion pages. Additionally, delete unused apps you don’t need, as they may still collect and share your data.

2. Remove personal information from Google Search results

Google lets you remove private information from the Internet. Through the Remove Content tool, you can remove your information from Google such as phone numbers, addresses and explicit visual media. In the same way, consider removing your personal information from people search sites such as FastPeopleSearch and others.

3. Request removal from third-party websites and data brokers

Data broker websites purchase your personal information to distribute it to advertisers as well as recruiters and criminals. You can send data removal requests to data broker sites like Spokeo, Whitepages and MyLife. Also, you can use data removal services like DeleteMe and OneRep to wipe your data off multiple sources simultaneously.

4. Clear up social media platforms and make them private

Go through your profiles on social media sites and delete posts or personal details that could expose too much information. Change your account settings to private mode so only trusted people can see your profile.

5. Review apps and permissions

Mobile applications frequently ask to access your contact list and location data as well as your microphone and media permissions. Go through your app permissions to disable access to features you don’t want the apps to have.

Other steps for privacy protection

In addition to the above-mentioned steps, consider the following these tips to delete personal data online:

🔒Delete old emails with sensitive data. Emails with financial details, passwords, or personal information should be removed or archived securely.

🔒Disable location tracking and targeted ads. Turn off location history on your devices and opt out of personalized advertising through your device or browser settings.

🔒Use private search engines like DuckDuckGo. Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your searches or collect your personal data.

🔒Create and constantly update strong passwords. A password manager like Keeper, or 1Password lets you safely store strong passwords for all your accounts

🔒Use a virtual private network (VPN) app. Using a VPN encrypts Internet traffic, so that nobody can track what you do online. However, we recommend you to avoid using free VPNs as they collect your personal info and sell to advertisers. We suggest you try VeePN — a premium service that offers robust protection online. How? Let’s discuss in detail!

How VeePN can protect your Internet privacy

VeePN offers a range of advanced security features that can guarantee your anonymity online:

🛡️IP address masking. This feature hides your actual IP by passing your traffic to a remote server. For instance, you can sit in your apartment in New York City, but trackers, advertisers, and snoopers will see that you’re in a remote server’s location you’ve connected to.

🛡️Encryption. VeePN provides military-grade protection for your data so you can safely browse public Wi-Fi networks as nobody can read your traffic even if they manage to intercept it.

🛡️No Logs policy. VeePN commits to not collecting your personal information for commercial purposes.

🛡️Breach Alert. The service notifies you about data breaches that expose your email or other personal information so you can respond quickly.

VeePN also offers Alternative ID feature to protect your identity online. Try VeePN today and enjoy a 30-day money-back guarantee!

FAQ

Your personal data can be wiped off from the Internet but it demands several steps to take such as deletion of your social media and removing your information from people search services. Read this article to learn more about removal of your sensitive information from the Internet.

To remove your personal information from public searches use such services as DeleteMe and send a request to Google to remove your data via Remove Content tool.

You can’t remove your information from the dark web completely if you have appeared there, but you can minimize risks. Start with checking your data via Have I Been Pwned service and update your passwords by making them complex and difficult to crack with brute force.

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.