There are many reasons why an individual would want to erase their information from the internet - some want to protect their business from breaches; others are uncomfortable with sharing personal information online. 

Some want to clean their online presence when applying for a new job as a misjudged comment from years ago or a post with poor taste has the potential to turn off their current employer. 

Either way, deleting your social media accounts will not guarantee your complete removal online as there are digital footprints that were left as you use the internet, which passively collects data as you surf from site to site. Fortunately, there are various ways to take control of your privacy, even if you’re not tech-savvy. 

Deleting all social media handles like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more can be easy for some who want to maintain a high level of privacy. However, in this digitally-oriented world, completely ignoring the internet is an unrealistic goal as it is now one of the major portals where you can learn and search for products or services that you need. 

With that in mind, you can safely browse the web and safeguard your digital footprint by using a virtual private network (VPN) to keep websites from installing cookies and tracking your history. It’s an excellent tool for establishing a closed system where you can jump from site to site without leaving a single trace. 

At the opposite end of private networks, there is an option to freely explore the internet without using a VPN by hiding in plain sight. It’s a program like Virtual World Computing’s Cocoon that protects your IP address and acts as a smart proxy. The best part is that it can either block cookies or store them into your Cocoon account, allowing you an avenue where you can freely connect to the web in a secure and encrypted manner.

If you ever find something distasteful about yourself online that can potentially tarnish your reputation, the best and quickest course of action is to put a professional content removal service on speed dial. 

They have the means to conduct a significant sweep of your digital footprint and remove your online content in specific aggregator sites. 

Social media sites are active digital footprints that require you to share information through posting or commenting. However, there are passive data collection brewing behind the scenes just by liking a post or even frequenting a website. 

Both serve as an extension of your online identity, so the best way to ensure you have a good reputation on either angle is to practice mindfulness when surfing the net. Of course, you can take the extra step by keeping an eye on your privacy settings. 

If all else fails and you find something you want to be taken down, you can either contact the website’s administrator or hire a content removal expert to remove the sensitive information for you. 

If you’re looking for online content removal services to help you leave the internet, look no further; we are one of the fastest growing online image management company, with a long-standing reputation in digital content removal, so get in touch with us today to see how we can help!