How to Disappear Completely From the Internet [Full Guide]

In the digital age, more and more people are concerned about their online privacy. If you’re one of the people looking for ways how to disappear completely from the internet, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we will walk you through all the necessary steps to delete your social media accounts, remove your information from Google, and turn off geolocation and GPS tracking.

Let’s begin!

How to Disappear Completely from the Internet?

Every action you take online leaves a trace, and the digital footprints you create can be observed by various people, organizations, etc. But disappearing from the internet isn’t as simple as closing your account—it takes a little effort.

Here’s how to do it.

Delete Your Social Network Accounts

There are a number of reasons why you might want to delete your social media accounts. If you’re concerned about your privacy and want to vanish from the internet, deleting your social media accounts is a must. Although this may seem like an obvious step, it’s actually not as easy as it sounds. But don’t worry, we will explain how to delete yourself from every social platform on the internet.

• Deactivate Instagram and Facebook Accounts

Here are the steps you need to follow to delete your Facebook and Instagram accounts:

Facebook

You can either deactivate your Facebook account for a set amount of time or permanently delete it. To do so, log in and go to Settings > Your Facebook Information > Deactivation and Deletion, and choose the option you prefer. You can deactivate your account at any time, but this action only hides it, so that your account is still there and you may resume using it at any moment. However, if you delete it, then all of your data will be erased, and you wouldn’t be able to reactivate it (after 30 days).

After you delete yourself from the internet, it’s possible that some messages will still appear even though your name will be removed from any post or photo you’ve been tagged in. However, the photos themselves will remain even after your name has been removed, and if you want to remove them completely, ask the person who posted them to delete them.

Instagram

Deleting your Instagram account is a bit simpler. You should only be aware that you can’t delete it from your iOS/ Android app; you should do it from your browser.

1. Go to the “Delete Your Account” page from a mobile or PC browser. If you’re not already logged into Instagram on the web, you’ll be required to do so. Before you delete yourself from Instagram, make sure you know your Instagram password, as you’ll probably need to enter it a couple of times during the process.
2. Next, select one of the dropdown options next to “Why are you deleting your account?” and re-enter your password. Only after you’ve chosen a reason from the menu will the option to permanently remove your account appear.
3. Click Delete [your username] once it appears.

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to restore your account 30 days after you ask Instagram to delete it. You’ll have to create a new one if you change your mind.

Deactivate LinkedIn Account

The next step of how to remove your name from the internet is deactivating your LinkedIn account. Closing your account means that your profile and access to all of your LinkedIn information will be deleted permanently. To deactivate your LinkedIn account:

1. Log in to LinkedIn and go to your profile page.
2. Click on the Me icon in the top bar, then select View profile from the dropdown menu.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of your profile page and click on Manage my account.
4. On the next page, click Deactivate or close my account under Account preferences.
5. Enter your password when prompted, then click Continue.

As the last step, you will be given a series of options as to why you are leaving LinkedIn; usually, people select ‘I don’t find LinkedIn valuable’ or ‘I don’t use LinkedIn enough’.

Deactivate All Your Emails

Remember, if your email accounts are still active, you won’t be able to disappear from the internet completely. Email accounts are frequently linked to one’s identity, and if you want to truly leave the internet world behind, you must permanently delete your emails and close your email inboxes for good. Emails are an efficient tool for communication, but they also leave a lot of digital footprints; which is why it’s critical to delete all of your email addresses if you want to learn how to remove your address from the internet.

Make sure you delete all of your social media accounts, including Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and other services. You should also delete all the services that are linked to Gmail (Drive, YouTube, etc.). To delete your account, go to My Account by selecting your profile photo and then click on Delete Your Account. Once you’re in, click on Delete All.

Delete Other Accounts (Email Lists You Signed Up For)

The next step is to delete any other accounts that you have signed up for. This includes things like:

• email lists
• online forums
• websites that you no longer use

It can be inconvenient to unsubscribe manually, but if you’re wondering “how to delete me from all internet sources?”, it’s the only way to prevent these websites from keeping your personal information. To do this, simply go through your list of subscriptions and unsubscribe from the ones that you don’t want anymore. If you can’t find an unsubscribe link, then contact the company or website directly and ask them to remove your account.

Delete Your Personal Blogs

Before you complete the process of how to delete yourself from the internet, think about whether you’ve posted written content or other material on a blog you own or on a forum. If your name is associated with it (and in most cases it is), you’ll want to erase everything and shut down your account for good. Even if you use aliases in a forum, you should delete everything, since even pseudonyms can allow people to locate you quickly and discover your email address or real name.

When you delete a blog, all of the information in it will be deleted. Because deleting a blog is permanent, make sure you back up any important data before doing so. The main reason why it’s important to delete your blogs when seeking how to completely disappear from the internet is that your identity is linked to the blog. People can use it to find and contact you, and you’d probably want to avoid such situations.

Remove Information from Google

After you’ve deleted your social networks, some of your personal data may still be on the web. This can even include confidential personal information, such as your Social Security number or your bank account number. 

Essentially, the best course of action to remove information from Google is to contact the source straight away. You can send an email to the website’s host and request that they delete the content immediately. If the website administrator refuses to cooperate or is unable to remove it, you can submit a legal request to Google asking that all information should be removed from the search results.

Turn Off Geolocation and GPS

Geolocation services and GPS track your location and movements, making it impossible to disappear from the internet as long as they’re turned on. If your device is lost or stolen, the finder could use geolocation to figure out where you live, work, or go to school. By turning it off, you’ll make it more difficult for someone to track your movements and find out personal information about you.

Some apps request access to your geolocation data in order to function. Even if you’ve already deleted all your social media, other phone apps, like your camera, can put geolocation tags on the pictures you’ve taken, thus exposing or sharing your location with third parties. That’s why, in the process of how to disappear from the internet, it’s important to make sure you disable GPS and geolocation tracking on all of your phone’s apps.

Key Takeaway

Conclusion

Now that you know how to get off the internet, we hope you’ll think about your digital footprint. By following the recommendations listed above, you can delete yourself from the internet and succeed in preserving your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. One thing to keep in mind is that this method takes time; have patience and don’t expect to do it all in one day.