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Remove your online history with DeleteMe: what can actually go?

Searching your own name may reveal old profiles, an address or a phone number you would rather keep private. My original article presented DeleteMe as a paid solution. Its list of fixed prices and the suggestion that a service could remove your whole online history were too simple.

Make a list first

Record where the information actually lives. A search engine often only points to somebody else's page. Removing a search result may leave the source page intact. Where possible, start with the publisher of that page or your own old account. Keep track of requests and responses so you need not repeat the search each time.

Not everything you dislike can automatically be removed. Other people's interests or legal retention duties may apply. For each result, find out exactly what is public, who published it and which route fits. Check whether the information reappears later.

What a removal service can do

DeleteMe now focuses particularly on finding personal details at data brokers and submitting removal requests. That is a narrower, more concrete job than 'erasing your past'. If you consider a service, check which sources it covers, what you must provide and how it reports results. For a job application or privacy concern, the useful question is what has actually changed.

— GijsDiscuss this article

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