Can a digital footprint be deleted?
No — at least not entirely. Once your personal information is online, it can be copied, shared, and stored in places you have no access to or control over. Even if you delete an account or remove a post, archived versions, cached pages, or third-party databases may still keep that data. Screenshots, data resales, and backups mean some information can shadow you online for years.
That doesn’t mean you have no control. Parts of your digital footprint can be reduced or even erased. Search engines like Google let you request the removal of specific search results. Privacy laws also give you certain rights.
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In the EU, you can request that organizations delete personal data about you under the “right to be forgotten” (Article 17). This applies to outdated or no longer relevant information, data collected without consent, or unlawful processing.
- The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In California, you can ask businesses to delete the personal information they’ve collected about you, with some exceptions for legal compliance and security purposes.
By making these requests, you can often reduce your online exposure and remove certain data from public view — but this doesn’t guarantee the information is gone for good. If your details have been copied to other servers or shared with third parties, those versions might still be out there. This is why reducing and controlling your digital footprint is more realistic than expecting to remove every trace.
For detailed information about your rights, you can visit:
What information can be found in a digital footprint?
Your digital footprint can hold a lot of personally identifiable information (PII) — details that can be used to identify, contact, or impersonate you. Some of this data comes from what you share deliberately, and some from what’s collected automatically without your direct involvement.
Examples include your:
- Full name, home address, phone number, and email address. These details can appear in public directories, social media profiles, or company contact pages.
- Photos, videos, and audio recordings. Shared on social media, blogs, or photo storage services. Even if you delete them, copies may remain online.
- Social media activity. Posts, comments, likes, and tagged photos can reveal your personal views, relationships, and habits.
- Location history. GPS data from your phone, tagged posts, or check-ins can reveal your movements and daily patterns.
- Online purchase history and payment details. These are stored by e-commerce sites and payment processors, and sometimes leaked in data breaches.
- Browsing history and search queries. They are collected by websites, internet service providers, and advertising trackers.
- Professional profiles, resumes, and work history. These can be found on LinkedIn, company websites, or job application portals.
On their own, these details may not seem like much. But when combined, they can form a detailed profile of your identity, habits, and preferences. Data brokerage companies, advertisers, and even malicious actors can use this profile to target you with ads, influence your decisions, or attempt fraud and identity theft.
How to find your digital footprint
Before you can reduce or delete your digital footprint, you need to know exactly what details about you are out there. This step helps you understand how much of your personal information is exposed and where it’s stored. By mapping your footprint you can then target the most important areas first.
Dark web scan
The dark web is a hidden part of the internet where stolen or leaked data often changes hands. If your email address, passwords, or other sensitive details are exposed in a breach, they could end up there without you knowing. Running a dark web scan can alert you to these leaks, helping you update your passwords and lock down your accounts.
To see if your accounts have been compromised, try tools like NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor or government cybersecurity resources.
Type your name into search engines
Enter your full name into major search engines, like Google, Microsoft Bing, or Yahoo Search. Then try variations — add your middle name, nicknames, email addresses, and usernames. If your name is common or matches a celebrity’s, it may be harder to find your information among the results, so take extra time to review them.
You can also use quotation marks around your name (for example, "Name Surname") to find exact matches and make the search more accurate. Look through the results for traces of personal information such as old social media posts, news mentions, or directory listings.
Search results can uncover forgotten accounts, outdated personal information, or content posted by others that mentions you. Keep in mind, though, that search engines only show information from websites they index. Some data may still exist on non-indexed sites, private forums, or hidden parts of the internet. For that, dark web monitor tools are more effective in spotting exposures that won’t appear in a regular search.
Contact data brokers
Data brokers make a business out of collecting PII from public records, social media, and online activity, then selling it. Their databases can hold everything from your address and phone number to your shopping history and demographic profile.
You can request data removal by contacting brokers directly. The process can be lengthy — each broker has its own form and verification steps — but it’s an effective way to cut off one of the biggest sources of personal data distribution. Tools like Incogni can do the legwork for you, sending removal requests to multiple brokers at once.
Use Google to gather your search data
Google offers a free tool called “Results about you” that scans its search index for personal details such as your home address, phone number, or email accounts. If it finds matches, you can request their removal directly through the platform.
This tool provides one of the fastest ways to pull sensitive contact information from search results and reduce the risk of scams or harassment. However, the process can take time, and not every removal request is approved. Google may only take down certain types of sensitive information, and the data itself will remain on the original website unless you contact the site owner directly.
Check old accounts and subscriptions
Old accounts can be a hidden part of your digital footprint. These may include old social media profiles, forum memberships, or e-commerce logins. Many still hold personal details and may be vulnerable if the platform suffers a data breach.
To find these accounts, simply search your inbox for keywords like “welcome,” “verify your email,” or “password reset.” Once you spot them, close or delete any you no longer need.
How to reduce or delete your digital footprint
Removing every trace of yourself from the internet is nearly impossible. Still, you can take action to remove personal information from the internet and lower your exposure.
- 1.Remove personal information from Google
- 2.Remove your data from people search sites
- 3.Disable ad tracking on your web browser
- 4.Update weak or leaked passwords
- 5.Create search alerts
- 6.Use a password manager
- 7.Perform regular dark web scans
Remove personal information from Google
Google allows you to request the removal of specific content, such as your home address, phone number, or other sensitive details, from its search results. To remove information from Google search, follow these steps:
- 1.Go to the Google content removal request page.
- 2.Select the type of information you want removed.
- 3.Provide the URLs of the search results or cached pages containing your data.
- 4.Submit the form and monitor your email for Google’s response.
Keep in mind this removes the information from search results, not the source website. You’ll need to contact site owners directly to have the content deleted at its origin.
Remove your data from people search sites
People search sites collect and display PII from public records and online sources. You can opt out of people search sites manually by visiting each site’s removal page or use a data removal tool like Incogni to automate the process and send opt-out requests to several sites at the same time.
Many of these sites rely on data brokers, from whom they purchase the data. And despite the fact that brokers hold extensive amounts of personal information, NordVPN’s 2024 global survey found that only 18% of respondents knew what a data broker was. That’s why opting out of their databases is such an important step in making your personal details harder to find.
Disable ad tracking on your web browser
Web browsers and advertisers track your activity to build profiles for targeted ads. Disabling ad tracking reduces how much of your online behavior is recorded.
- In Chrome. Go to “Settings” → “Privacy and security” → “Privacy sandbox” and turn off tracking features.
- In Safari. Go to “Settings” → “Privacy” and enable “Prevent cross-site tracking.”
- In Firefox. Go to “Settings” → “Privacy & security” and set “Enhanced tracking protection” to “Strict.”
Update weak or leaked passwords
If your passwords are easy to guess, reused, or exposed in a breach, update them immediately. Use strong, unique passwords for each account — at least 12 characters with a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Disclaimer: Updating passwords doesn’t directly reduce your digital footprint, but it helps protect your accounts from unauthorized access if old or leaked credentials are ever exploited.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends using passphrases or random word combinations for better security.
Create search alerts
Set up Google Alerts for your name, email, phone number, and other personal identifiers. This allows you to act quickly if new information about you appears online.
To set an alert, go to Google Alerts, enter the term, choose “All results,” and set the delivery frequency.
Use a password manager
A secure password manager service stores your passwords in encrypted form and helps you generate strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. This reduces the risk of password reuse and makes it easier to update compromised credentials.
Perform regular dark web scans
Use tools like NordVPN’s dark web monitor to check if your personal data appears in leaked databases on the dark web. If a scan shows your data has been compromised, take immediate action to change passwords and secure affected accounts by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA).
How to keep your digital footprint clean
Reducing your digital footprint is only half the job — the rest is preventing it from growing again. These steps will help you maintain control over your personal information and keep it out of the wrong hands.
- Delete browsing history regularly. Browsers store your search queries, visited sites, and cookies. Clearing this data removes traces of your activity and reduces the amount of information advertisers and websites can track.
- Think before you post. Public posts, photos, or comments can be saved, shared, and resurfaced years later. Avoid sharing sensitive details like your home address, phone number, even travel plans.
- Adjust privacy settings. Review privacy controls on social media, apps, and online accounts. Limit the audience for your posts and restrict data sharing with third-party services to avoid common privacy issues of social media, such as oversharing personal details or exposing your location.
- Use a tracker blocker. Install a tool like NordVPN’s tracker blocker to prevent websites from collecting data about your browsing habits. This helps reduce your overall online profile.
- Use a VPN. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address, making it even harder for third parties to link your activity to your identity.
- Review app permissions. Check which apps have access to your location, contacts, or microphone, and remove unnecessary permissions.
- Monitor your accounts. Regularly check your bank, email, and social media accounts for suspicious activity. Early detection of unauthorized access can prevent bigger security issues.
- Limit third-party logins. Avoid using “Sign in with Google/Facebook” unless necessary. These logins can link your accounts and share more data than you intend.
Taking control of your online presence
Your digital footprint grows every time you use the internet, and it won’t clean itself because every post, search, and account adds to the record. The good news is that you can take back control. By finding where your data “lives,” removing what you can, and building habits to protect your privacy, you make it harder for anyone to misuse your information.
Start with one step today — run a search for your name, check your privacy settings, or request removal from a people search site. The sooner you act, the smaller and safer your digital footprint will be.
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