Google can give you more information than you may want. If you have a personal bankruptcy or are looking for information on your family, a stalker or coworker could easily find it. This can be embarrassing at best, and dangerous at worst. You should also consider identity theft. Are you wondering if it is possible to remove yourself from Google Search? This is a personal decision that will be influenced by your particular situation.

Although you cannot completely disappear from the Internet you can remove your name from many Google search results. Although it takes time and may require some phone calls, you can do this and delete 99 percent of the digital footprint. Here are some ways to keep your digital footprint private, at least for some of it.

Google will remove you for the right reasons

You’re not going in the right direction if you want to remove yourself from Google search so that corporations don’t have your data. The majority of information corporations have about you is not gathered through a Google search. This information is usually gathered through your social media usage or shopping habits on websites. Once the information has been gathered, it can be sold to other companies. Even if you choose to remove yourself from Google search results, you will likely still have a lot of information about yourself. You can remove yourself from Google search results to help future employers, stalkers, and other people avoid finding you online.

Google Search: How to delete yourself

Your first and most obvious step to remove yourself from search results is to delete all social media accounts. Or at the very least, change your name from your real to a fake one. Google will crawl a website that has removed your credentials and remove your information from search results.

You should delete or modify any accounts you haven’t used for years, such as Reddit or MySpace. Any accounts that you don’t remember should be found by your self-Google. You can keep your accounts. Nilsson notes that Google will not show your photos in search results if you make your Instagram or other social media accounts “private”.

Contact data-collection websites and data-broker service

You may have found websites that said things like “We’ve located the phone number of Joe Jones” or “Click Here to obtain the arrest records for Joe Jones,” while you were doing your Google search. These sites can be data-collection or data-broker sites. These sites allow you to view information about someone, such as their address, court history, and names of family members, for a small fee. It can be difficult to get your data deleted from these sites. Each site has its own process. To get your data removed from these sites, you will need to contact them individually. Or, you can use services such as DeleteMe, which can help you for a fee. Google might also have some disturbing information about you, based on user activity.

Comment deleted from the website

Simple comments on articles on the website can also be found in a Google search. If you are unable to log in to the site to delete the comment, you will need to contact the site owners and request that they manually remove it. You will usually find contact information on the site’s Contact or About Us pages. If this page doesn’t provide any useful information, you can go to WhoIs.com for the contact information. It’s important to remember that website owners are not required to delete comments. They probably won’t. But it’s worth giving it a try.

Selepak states that the internet is still the Wild West without any government regulation. It is extremely difficult to get anything down, even if it makes one look bad or embarrassing. “The only way to get help is from strangers. Unfortunately, this is not a time of kindness.

Photos or articles that are not about you can be removed

Photos and articles about you, like website comments, can be difficult to remove. To request removal, you will need to contact the website owner. Google can also be contacted to request the removal of information via their online service. You can also report images that are considered pornographic to request a removal using the Report Inappropriate content tool.

Google Maps allows you to hide your home

Google will show you a photo of the home in Google Maps if you do a search for your address. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can always delete it. Google will blur your house quite easily. Simply go to Google Maps and search for your address. Click on the photo of your home. You’ll be able to see your address in a black box. Click on the menu and select Report a problem. Complete the form and click on submit to save your changes. Important note: This form is irrevocable and cannot be undone.

Do you want to keep your personal data off the internet? Sites such as Intelius.com appear in Google Search. They aggregate your personal information (as well as that of others) and share it with anyone who is interested. These platforms can gather data from multiple sources and build a profile that includes all of the information.

This information site even has the words “Access Information instantly” so you can find personal information for millions of people in just a few clicks or taps.

What if you don’t want your personal information to be made available to strangers? Are there any options? Yes, you can still remove personal information and complete an Intelius opt-out.

What are data brokers?

Sites called data brokers are used to searching for personal information. Beyond Intelius and Spokeo, BeenVerified offers the same services. There are many similar websites that appear to be appearing almost randomly without warning or fanfare.

An Intelius People Search will hide a lot of information behind a paywall. This includes criminal records and divorce records. However, users can still view basic details free of charge. This is particularly alarming for those trying to hide their location from stalkers or other undesirable individuals.

Sites like Intelius may seem to be breaking the law by making this information public, but the truth is that an Intelius search is legal. All information found on Intelius is already a public record. Intelius simply grabs it from other websites and places it all together.

How do you erase yourself from an Intelius search?

You will need to follow certain steps in order to remove your data from the Intelius people search. The bigger question is: Should you do this for Intelius and other sites?

Yes, it is possible. However, it is up to you how and whether you decide to do it yourself. After seeing how difficult it is to get their personal information removed from Intelius or other sites, many people hire reputation management firms to handle the tedious and boring work. Reputation management can help you with all of the steps required to get your personal information removed from Intelius people search and people finding sites. They can also send you reports that will give you immediate results.

If you are serious about erasing personal information from Intelius searches, as well as from other company searches, you can expect to spend hours erasing your online history.

You can choose to hire a reputation management company to handle the job. This will save you the hassle of contacting each site to verify if your information has changed. Your reputation management company will contact you, perform a scan of your information, and inform you when your profile has been removed from a search.