Erase Yourself From The Internet Checklist
Many people struggle with a near-compulsive urge to check their phones, email, social media, texts, news sites, and any other form of technology they can access throughout the day.
In fact, statistics show that, on average, children ages 8 to 12 in the United States spend 4 to 6 hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to 9 hours. If these kids are sleeping 8 hours a night, that's nearly half of the day (if not more) on screens[*].
Why is it that we just can't seem to put our phones down, turn the internet off, and stay focused in the present moment?
At this point, it's no secret that advertisers leverage information from your online presence to target you. But there's much more than meets the eye when it comes to the precision with which your free will is obstructed by means of marketing.
Whether you realize it or not, everything you do on the internet is tracked, noted, and utilized to create a custom experience that keeps you coming back for more.
Does this mean you're powerless? Absolutely not. The amount of information you share is ultimately in your own hands; you just need to know how to turn off the trackers and information-gathering programs you have running on your devices.
Read on to learn how to free yourself from the prying eyes behind your internet use.
5 Tips To Erase Yourself From The Internet
#1 Enhance Privacy Settings Or Get Rid Of Social Media
Perhaps the most pervasive use of the internet is through social media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on have become sub-search engines, along with a way to communicate, compare, and distract from reality.
Furthermore, these apps constantly collect data about what you're interested in, how long you spend on a specific page, and where you navigate to once you're logged in. They can see who you're connected to, whose content you're most engaged with, and what types of interests you have.
The result? Super targeted ads for items that you likely do have an interest in. And these ads aren't only for products, but for individuals that may be displaying and selling the lifestyle you long for.
Research says that instead of feeling inspired by others on social media, it's leading to depression and increased feelings of loneliness[*].
So, how exactly do you protect your information on social media?
Facebook is probably the biggest offender when it comes to sharing personal information. The good news is, there are several steps you can take to enhance your privacy on Facebook, these include:
#1 Clear Your History
Facebook uses your information to share with advertisers, which then allows you to receive targeted ads. When you clear your history in the "Off-Facebook Activity" menu, it disables targeted ads from being sent to your screen.
To clear your history on mobile:
● Tap the three-line menu in the bottom right of the Facebook app (hamburger menu).
● Select Settings
● Scroll down and select Off-Facebook Activity
● At this point, you can see which apps use your activity. Take a look through the apps and make sure you want to remove the information.
● Tap Clear History
Once you clear your history, you'll be good to go, but it's important to understand that Facebook will continue gathering information, so you must periodically clear your history.
To clear your history on desktop:
● Click on the dropdown menu arrow at the top right of Facebook and click Settings & Privacy
● Select Settings
● Tap Your Facebook Information in the left column
● Click Off-Facebook Activity to review
● From here, click Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity
● You'll be asked to re-enter your password.
● At this point, you can see which apps use your activity. Take a look through the apps and make sure you want to remove the information.
● Tap Clear History.
#2 Disable Facial Recognition
Facial recognition on Facebook helps people tag you in photos and videos, but it's also an easy way to keep tabs on your personal life. To disable facial recognition:
Click the downward-pointing arrow in the top right of the screen
● Select Settings & Privacy
● Select Settings
● In the left column, click Face Recognition
● Tap "Do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos?"
● Select Edit and then-No in the dropdown menu to disable the setting
#3 Disable Third-Party App Tracking
When you use Facebook to log into other apps, platforms, or websites, it gives those companies access to your personal data.
Disable third-party app tracking from your desktop:
● Click the downward-pointing arrow in the top right of the screen.
● Select Settings & Privacy, followed by Settings
● Tap Apps and Websites on the left menu.
● Select Active
● Click on the box next to the app's name to stop tracking you and click Remove. This will disable it from tracking you.
#4 Stop Your Activity From Being Shared With Your Friends
One way that Facebook advertisers target you is by sharing with you what your friends have liked. For instance, you may see a post pop up that's an ad, and you see that three of your friends have liked it. Did Facebook ask permission from your friends if they could share their interests with you? Of course not.
You can stop Facebook from using your liked posts as advertisements for your connections by making your interests and likes more private. Here's how:
● Under Settings & Privacy, select Settings, then click Ads, followed by Ad Settings
● Click Social Interactions
● select Only Me
If all of these steps feel like a lot of work and upkeep, you can make it easier on yourself and just delete Facebook altogether. To delete your profile:
● Click the down arrow icon in the upper right corner.
● Click Settings & Privacy > Settings, then click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
● Choose Deactivation and Deletion
● Select the option to Delete Account
● Click Continue to Account Deletion.
At this point, you'll be asked if you want to deactivate your account or delete your information. If you want to deactivate, your information will remain available for the taking. To delete:
● Choose Delete Account.
● Enter your password, click Continue and then click Delete Account
Once you've deleted your account, you have 30 days to log back in and restore the account if you change your mind.
Instagram
Instagram, which Facebook owns, is a platform that primarily consists of photos with short captions. Although it's not as complex as Facebook, advertisers use Instagram as a way to target you just the same.
To delete your Instagram account:
● Go to this page: Delete Account
● Login to your account if you're not already logged in
● Select an option from the dropdown menu for Why are you deleting your account? and type in your password.
● Select Delete (your username)
Instagram will delete your profile and account details one month from the day you hit that delete button. You won't be visible on Instagram at that time, and you can log back in before that date if you change your mind.
Many people have Twitter accounts that they use sparingly, if it all. However, even if you're not actively using Twitter, your information is still floating around.
To delete Twitter:
● Click More on the right-hand menu when you log in.
● Click on Settings and Privacy from the menu.
● Select Your Account > Deactivate your account.
● Enter your password when prompted and confirm you want to continue by clicking the Deactivate account button.
Just like Facebook and Instagram, Twitter waits 30 days before fully deleting your account. During this time, your personal information is hidden from the public. If you log in, your account will reactivate.
#2 Clear Yourself From Search Engines and Amazon
Amazon
Amazon is the largest online seller of pretty much everything you can think of. In addition to having a first-hand glimpse at your spending habits, Amazon can also track your biographical information, likes and dislikes, and comments you've made on purchases.
You may not realize it, but if you have an Amazon account, you also have a public profile that goes along with it. To manage your privacy settings on Amazon, follow these instructions:
Sign in to your Amazon account
Click Account and Lists
Under Ordering and shopping preferences, click Your Amazon profile.
Click the orange box marked Edit your public profile.
Here, you'll see Edit public profile and Edit privacy settings.
There's a lot you can go through at this point, but be sure to check the about me section, shopping and wish lists, and the community activity section.
Google is the most widely used search engine, which means they have access to more information than any other internet source out there. If you can google it, they can use it to track and target you.
This is why you see ads for your favorite clothing company, sporting goods store, and so on when you visit any page on the internet. How did they know? You told them.
Luckily, you can delete most of what's shared on search engines with a few simple steps that will delete search history, disable tracking, and clear location and YouTube viewing history.
● Go to myaccount.google.com and log in, then click Manage your Google Account.
● Click on Manage your data & personalization, located under Privacy & Personalization
● Under the Activity controls panel, you will see checkmarks next to Web & App activity tracking, Location History, and YouTube History. Click each one to adjust your settings, and toggle them off to stop further tracking.
● Below Activity controls, click on My Activity under Activity and timeline.
● On the menu that appears in the left sidebar, click Delete activity by: Select how far back you would like to delete your history in the pop-up menu. Click Delete to confirm
You can also block ad personalization altogether by:
● Opening your Google Account settings again
● From the left-hand panel, click on Data & personalization
● From the Ad personalization panel, click Go to ad settings.
● Click the switch next to Ad personalization is ON, you should now see Ad personalization is OFF
#3 Turn Off Trackers
Your phone and computer are constantly tracking not only your usage but your location. Marketers love to know exactly where you are and where you're headed because it lets them hit you with more precision. In other words, they can give you tailor-made ads depending on where you are and the places you most often visit.
There are a handful of ways to create more privacy in your whereabouts and behavior; these include:
Turn Off Phone Location Tracking
Your phone is constantly tracking your location, which is easy to do since most people take their phones with them everywhere they go. In fact, they not only track location but how long you stay and how frequently you visit that specific place. While this may seem intrusive, companies can get away with it because it is, in fact, an option on your end.
To turn off location tracking on iPhones:
● Click Settings
● Go to Privacy
● Select Location Services
● Scroll down to System Services
● Choose Significant Locations to see the logged record of where you've been and toggle it off.
● You can also clear your history here by clicking Clear History
To turn off location tracking on Android:
● Open Settings
● Scroll down and tap Location or Advanced" if you have a work profile
● At the top, turn Use location off
● To delete your device's location cache, tap Delete Location History at the bottom of the screen under Location History
● Repeat this process for each Google Account you have on your Android device
Go Incognito
There are a variety of private web browsers out there that can offer much more autonomy in terms of tracking.
If you use Google Chrome, you can open an Incognito Window by tapping the three-dot menu to the right of the address bar and selecting the New Incognito tab. When you're incognito, it blocks google from remembering your web activity.
For Mozilla users, the free Firefox Focus app will erase your passwords and browsing history after each use.
Your iPhone also has a free private browsing option through Safari. Simply open Safari on your phone, tap the window icon in the bottom right corner, and select "private."
Duckduckgo.com is a search engine that doesn’t track your activity. You can add this directly to your Chrome browser, or you can download the app for your mobile phone.
ProtonMail is an email service out of Switzerland that allows for incognito emailing. You can set up your email with no personal information needed, and email anonymously with no IP logs that can be linked back to your address.
Avoid Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assist can make life easier when you need an answer in a hurry. However, these applications make for some of the best tracking software out there as they get to know your basic needs and interests as intimately as an actual assistant.
Whenever you ask a question of your assistant, that information is gathered and analyzed to produce an answer for you. Over time, you can imagine how much data this amounts to.
Luckily, the use of virtual assistants is completely voluntary, so unless you're okay with sharing your questions with potential advertisers, it's best to avoid VAs.
#4 Delete Your Online Shopping Accounts
You can be sure that any website where you've made a purchase is keeping track of your likes and dislikes. While Amazon is the big one, there are hundreds of other online retailers out there that are getting first-hand knowledge of what you spend your money on and how frequently.
Unfortunately, many retailers don't make it as simple as visiting their site to delete your records. You can try logging in to your accounts and deleting them, but if you can't find a way to do it on their website, you may have to contact the retailer directly and request deletion.
#5 Remove Yourself From DNA and Ancestry Websites
While DNA kits may be able to tell you about your health tendencies, and ancestry sites can give you a glimpse of your family's history, these services are highly invasive when it comes to your privacy.
We truly don’t know what happens when we share our DNA with companies like this, so if you’re trying to reclaim autonomy, remove yourself from these databases. Two of the most popular DNA collection sites are 23andme and Ancestry.com.
To remove yourself from Ancestry.com:
● Tap or click here to visit Ancestry.com’s DNA settings page.
● Scroll to the bottom of the Settings page and tap Delete next to Delete DNA Test Results And Revoke Consent to Processing. You’ll be asked for your password next to confirm you want your information removed.
● Enter your password and tap Delete test results and Revoke Consent. Clicking this removes your results permanently from the website.
You can delete your account with 23andme through the Account Settings page, which is pretty straightforward. However, the company does state that your DNA cannot be removed from any ongoing or completed studies.
#6 Deactivate Old Email Accounts
If you really want to erase yourself from the internet, then deleting ALL email accounts would be necessary. With that being said, not having an email account isn't practical for most people these days.
Therefore, deleting old email accounts is the next best option. If you have several accounts for different purposes, this is only expanding your exposure on the internet. Think of the personal information you've shared on your email, as well as newsletter subscriptions, bills, and so on.
Keep in mind that deleting old email accounts should be the final step you take to remove or reduce your internet presence. The reason for this is that you may need your email to confirm unsubscriptions or to access information that will allow you to delete and remove other apps, accounts, and so on.
Takeaway
These days we spend more time on the internet and on our phones than we do face to face with friends, family, and coworkers. As technology pushes us away from in-person social interaction, it's paving the way for advertisers to learn every single thing about us without our awareness or permission.
Whether you wipe yourself clean from the internet entirely or take small steps to regain privacy, you're taking control back into your own hands.
This is especially important for the younger generations whose lives have been entirely engaged with the internet and social media from the time they could turn on a cell phone.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing, but even the smallest steps can help you and your family regain their autonomy.
