The world is a scary place… But you could argue the internet is even scarier. If it’s not privacy leaks and cyber bullying, it’s people on Twitter ranting complete rubbish for the sake of a few retweets. Maybe you’ve got sick of it all? Maybe you just want to disappear? Here at What Mobile, we hear your pleas and have responded with this handy guide on how to disappear from the internet.
Kill the web ringleaders
For all its openness and content, the internet is a surprisingly closed place. Most people crowd to specific websites and these are the ones you need to kill first. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google+ are the main platforms; we’ll deal with mobile-centric applications in the next step.
- Facebook: To delete your profile, you’ll want to avoid Facebook’s cheeky little ‘Deactivate’ button. This won’t delete your account but rather keep it in a state of suspended animation, waiting for the moment when you inevitably give in like a crack addict who needs his fix. To properly delete your account, you’ll have to use this specific link to get there, as the company doesn’t specifically have anything to do so on the settings page.
- Twitter: These guys are a bit more lenient when it comes to erasing your footprint; simply head to you account settings and click “Deactivate my account” at the bottom of the page. This is a permanent move, as opposed to Facebook’s cheeky deactivation methods.
- Google+: This one is a bit awkward, since by deleting Google+ you’ll also lose the entire google ecosystem in the process. If you have your primary email address tied to the account, you may want to leave this until the end. For everyone else, head to your Google Account and navigate to the “Close account and delete all services and info associated with it”. This will get rid of your entire Google footprint.
- LinkedIn: The easiest of the bunch. Simply head to the settings page, click “account” and then “close your account”. Boom.
Kill your mobile apps
Once you’ve got the main platforms out of the way, its time to focus on those pesky social media apps that reside primarily on your smartphone. Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, WhatsApp… They’ve all gotta go if you want complete online anonymity.
- Tinder: Another cheeky one, Tinder allows you to deactivate your account as well as delete it. To fully erase your account, head to App Settings and scroll down past the Tinder logo at the bottom. You’ll see a “delete account” box. Hit that and you’ll be free to meet people the old fashioned way.
- Instagram: Another sneaky one, Instagram can only be completely deleted from the web portal. Head to the accounts page and from there, you’ll need to select a reason for leaving.
- Snapchat: Open the Snapchat app and click on the ghost at the top. Head to the settings page in the top right corner. From there, head to support, Learning the basics and finally account settings. Then just hit “Delete an account”. It’s buried pretty deep, but we still applaud them for making it accessible through the app.
- Vine: Very simple. Head to the settings, select Your Content and tap “Deactivate account”.
- WhatsApp: Just as simple. Hit the dots in the upper right corner, choose settings, then account. From here, just click on “Delete my account” and you’re all done.
- Skype: This one is a bit confusing, as it really depends on whether or not you have a Microsoft account. If you don’t, you’ll need to send a request to Skype Customer Service informing them that you want to close your account. If you have a Microsoft Account, head to this link and select the account you want to close. You’ll have to go through various checkboxes and select a reason before you’re allowed to mark it for closure.
- Pinterest: Log in through the web domain and hit the gear icon to access your settings. Click deactivate account at the bottom of Account Basics and then “Permanently close my account”.
- Foursquare: Log in to your account online and hit the privacy settings section in the sidebar. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Delete your Account”. You’ll be taken to a confirmation page before it’s completely gone.
Remove your internet footprint
Now that your applications are nerfed, the next phase is to erase those online breadcrumbs that could be tracing back to your existence. After all, we’re going for complete deletion of our online lives here.
- Search Results: Now comes the boring part. Search Google and Bing for your name (different search engines find different things) and make a note of where you’re still showing up. Chances are you’ll still be lingering in a few places; likely smaller websites. If this is the case, your only option will be to contact the webmaster directly and request removal. If there’s no response, you can appeal to the search engines directly thanks to the EU “Right to be forgotten” ruling.
- Email contacts: At this point, you should still have your email address for obvious reasons. Now’s the time when you trawl through that contacts list and make a note of any website that you made an account with. Better get writing those removal emails.
- Unsubscribe from mail lists: Another tedious one that needs to be done, mailing lists should be pretty obvious as you’ll find them in your inbox. Just remember to keep an eye on that spam folder to ensure everything is erased.
- Public Records: Lots of sites reside online that keep personal data without us even realising it; databases that essentially post things like telephone numbers and address information without consent. While it’s not illegal, you’re still within your right to get that stuff removed. Using a service like DeleteMe will allow you to rid yourself from all these data hoarding chumps… For a fee. Otherwise, you’ll need to do it yourself. Reddit has a handy link of sites that have such information, you’ll also want to contact people such as BT to have your number removed from the phone book, as it’s all just as accessible online.
- Delete email: When, and ONLY when, all of the above is done. You can get rid of your primary email address and all other sources of contact.
Create a fake identity
Now that you don’t exist, you may want to ditch the web and actually go outside. However, if you still want to go online, you’ll need to create an alias so people don’t discover your identity. Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of ways to do this.
- Fake email: The easiest and most obvious step. Chances are you already have one. If you want to surf and join websites on the sly, just create an account and fib. It’s the best way.
- Pay with Bitcoin: Although a lot of the big websites don’t use Bitcoin, it really is the only secure and anonymous currency out there. Sure, you’ll probably only be able to buy drugs and porn, but at least people won’t know that it’s you who’s doing it.
For more features, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Features page.
Also, if you want not to leave your digital footprint on every website you visit, you should be using a Virtual Private Network. You could firstly try a free option (yes, there are some legit free options) and then move on to a paid software, such as well known ExpressVPN or Astrill.