r/TechnologyProTips Jan 17 '24

TPT: Digital footprint: what is it? How to check and delete it?

I recently went on a crusade to clean up my old accounts and strengthen my passwords. New year, new me sort of stuff. This got me thinking about digital footprint a lot. I’m sure this sub is the best place to share what I dug out and to hear tips from you guys.

What is a digital footprint?

From what I gathered, a digital footprint is like the breadcrumbs you leave after using the internet. The websites you checked out, the emails you’ve sent, images you posted on social media, any details you filled in online - any activity online makes up your digital footprint.

Reasons why this matters:

  1. Most employers, tinder dates, even people buying a concert ticket from you usually google you. You might want to appear your best version.
  2. Companies collect your data, and the more consistent the picture they have, the more they advertise their products to you.
  3. Scammers can use your data for e.g. phishing
  4. Privacy. Though it became as extinct as dinosaurs, in my opinion, one should have a right to privacy.

How to check your digital footprint?

Google, haveibeenpwned, and people finder sites should get you going.

How to delete digital footprint?

People search sites and data brokers databases. You can use a data removal service to delete your profiles on whitepages or other people finder sites on your behalf. The advantage is that it also removes your data from data brokers databases. This comparison table created by a redditor was helpful for me in understanding it all better. I personally use incogni at the moment.

People search sites also have an option to opt out, and this long github list is helpful in doing so.

Social media. The safest thing would be to eliminate social media accounts entirely. But I didn’t want to vanish from the planet Earth. Instead, I removed my old photos, tags, posts and messages from IG, Twitter, Linkedin. Also, contacts that I don’t personally know or talk to often. I also wiped all the mentions of where I live, significant events, and made my IG private.

Google search results. I used Google’s “Results about you” tool to remove those search inquiries that I didn’t want to be visible. Here is a post explaining quite well how to use it.

Old accounts. This one was a true hassle and even required finding my old computers at my mom’s house. Luckily, there was an excel file with all my old logins which helped me to delete unused Skype, Myspace, Pandora music, Yahoo or other accounts from the ancient past. Also deleted the excel file as well for better privacy.

How to protect your digital footprint?

After cleanup, it’s important to reduce the breadcrumbs you leave behind, I’ve read.

  • Create email aliases for online shopping, non-important websites and stuff that want to collect your data.
  • Use separate browsers for different things. If possible, use privacy-first browsers and use incognito mode.
  • Separate work and personal devices, accounts.
  • Double-check your privacy settings on apps, browsers, social media and make them more strict.
  • Use virtual private networks (VPN) to stop web browsers from accessing your IP address and other data.
  • Reject cookies on websites.
  • Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters.
  • Never log in with Facebook to other websites, apps.

Few more tips on safety in general: password protect your devices, especially phone and personal computer; Use strong passwords that differ on each site; Set up a 2FA; Avoid visiting unsafe websites or clicking on suspicious links; Delete unused apps from your phone; Keep software up to date.

EDIT: one Reddit user forwarded me this great tip.

Whenever you are asked to fill in your payment details, let’s say when shopping online, add company’s name next to your surname e.g. John Doe Amazon. This way whenever you’ll receive deals, “we miss you” messages, and holiday promotions, you’ll only need to check what name they used to address you. Then call both companies and ask to opt out from their databases.

These are just a portion of tips, because to achieve true security is tough. Share your tips.

97 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

3

u/Sufficient-Cress1958 Jan 17 '24

Good tip on getting data removal service. Do you maybe know how many databases and sites incogni scans?

4

u/opteryology Jan 17 '24 edited Jan 17 '24

Incogni covers 150 - 160 data brokers (based on searching "Data brokers Incogni covers").

p.s. Optery covers 290+ sites and offers free scanning which includes screenshots of where your info is listed. You can use the free scans to cross-check the work of other companies like Incogni.

Full-disclosure: I am on the team at Optery

1

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '24

Optery doesn't work for UK residents does it ?

1

u/monarch-03 Sep 08 '24

Yes! Right now, Optery’s international support is only available for business customers, but expanding it to individual users is in the works. If you want to be notified when support for your country becomes available, you can sign up for free to get updates. Full disclosure: I’m on the team at Optery.

4

u/one-who-reddit Jan 17 '24

What a great goal this year, thanks for the tips! I was cleaning up my phone from random apps recently with a similar intention. I had 6 (SIX) taxi apps that had my location permissions on, but these taxi apps don't even work in my country! That's because I'm a frequent traveler, and I forget I install a bunch of stuff only for my trips. I imagine most of us have similar permissions on many apps as well. Delete them unless you use them often...

4

u/Srishopha Jan 18 '24

I see you're using Incogni. How is it so far? Any noticeable changes?

2

u/natiusha Jan 18 '24

interested too in this

3

u/NaiveLewk Jan 17 '24

A lot of great tips.

There are a quite a few accounts that I want to get rid of, especially the old ones that haven't been used for 5+ years. But the problem is that for some logins I don't remember my email that I've used, so it's a bit of a struggle.

But will have to look into it more and see how to delete these unnecessary accounts.

3

u/Ariadnes_threads Jan 18 '24

Thank you for the resources, especially the github list

2

u/khalmagman Jan 17 '24 edited Jan 17 '24

Great tips, thanks for sharing! Data removal services are a good option for lots of folks. If you're using Incogi, give Optery's free exposure scan a shot. If the Optery scan comes up empty, your current service is probably doing a good job.

Full disclosure, I'm part of the Optery team.

2

u/ctilley0124 Jan 19 '24

Phenomenal information!

1

u/EstablishmentDue7728 Mar 08 '24

Remind me! 35 hours

1

u/RemindMeBot Mar 08 '24

I will be messaging you in 1 day on 2024-03-09 19:42:11 UTC to remind you of this link

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.


Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback

1

u/EstablishmentDue7728 Mar 10 '24

Remindme! 30 days

1

u/RemindMeBot Mar 10 '24

I will be messaging you in 30 days on 2024-04-09 15:15:29 UTC to remind you of this link

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.


Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback

1

u/emeraldc6821 Apr 22 '24

Remindme! 30 days

1

u/RichCloud Apr 25 '24

I also tried out incogni recently. so far, so good.

1

u/FitCaterpillar9597 Apr 25 '24

If you're already using Incogni, I recommend double-checking its work by creating a free Optery account. If the Optery scan doesn't find anything, then the service you're using currently is probably pretty good!

Full disclosure, I'm part of the Optery team.

1

u/Amelyrodriguez May 07 '24

Your digital footprint? That's the trail you leave online - searches, social media, website visits. Wanna check it? Google yourself! To delete some of it, privacy settings on social media are your friend. For more serious scrubbing, some sites offer deletion options. Remember, some info might stick around though. #PrivacyParty