Do you need Anonymity

Do you need Anonymity, is your Identity on the web

Are you an important person? A person that needs your data kept to you and no one else? Are you easily found in online databases? Has your data been sold? Do you know who has your data? All of these questions are valuable when looking into the face of anonymity and privacy. Do you need Anonymity?

Your data and identity are begin sold

Your data begin tracked and sold is nothing new. But these past few years it has gotten out of hand. All these companies that were once simple trackers, are now enterprise data harvesters worth billions. You may not even know what these companies are, who they are, or how they exist. All these companies exist in the invisible web. Some don’t even know the invisible web exists, but it is there and it tracks every move you make, and records it. The way they work are, the data input into the website is generally sent to the owner of the website so they can see how users use the website. But once that data is recorded, the trackers full recorded data is not in the hands of the website owner anymore. It’s in the hands of the third party provider, who can then do as they please with this data. Its partially the websites owners fault for installing the code, but these companies shouldn’t be able to basically license peoples data.

If my data is begin sold, where is it?

When your data is sold it may stay in the hands of advertisers, or go public. A lot of companies will basically recycle the data till almost everyone has it. Then its all indexed from who decides to go public with it, or if it gets leaked. Its very dangerous when your data is just floating around. Your data can be found in public databases. There is a massive list of them, our friends at School of Privacy have actually complied a massive list of very useful public databases. Names, phone numbers, addresses, and everything can be looked up via these databases. Most cover the United States databases, but some cover other countries. There is no need for us to publish a list of trusted and untrused databases. We will just list the huge post down below.

• List here

I found my data what now

If you have found your data don’t panic. There are many simple ways to get your data removed. Some companies specialize in scrubbing your identity clean from the internet. It’s not that having your identity published online is illegal, but its that you have the right for your data to be removed. If the data belongs to you, you have the right to it. All you have to do is ask for it to be removed yourself, or pay a company to do it for you. A list below will show you how to get rid of these databases and accounts.

• Delete Me – A popular service run by Abine, click here to see pricing.
• Delete Me FREE – A do it yourself version of Delete Me.
• Account Killer – A website that helps you delete your accounts that sell your data.
• Many other services available by looking them up online. We are listing what we personally believe is the best option.

How can I keep this data off the web

Keeping your data off the web isn’t hard at all. It sounds time consuming, and like it would cost money but its actually quite simple and can be completely free. I will go over the free options first.

Free options to keep your identity safe online (NOT GUARANTEED):

• Block unwanted trackers – Guide here
• Use an email provider that takes privacy serious – List here
• Use a search engine that takes privacy serious – List/Guide here
• Use a VPN – FOR OPTIMAL PRIVACY THIS IS A PAID OPTION, but CyberGhost offers a free plan.

Paid options for optimal privacy:

• Use a VPN (list of secure VPN’s here) – A VPN will encrypt/hide what you do online. But not only does it hide what you do from your internet provider, it hides you on the internet. While connected to a VPN you generally appear in another location that you really aren’t. You are also connected to the same VPN sever that thousands of others are connected to. So you’re not begin tracked individually, you are in a big list of uses running millions of queries at once. It’s virtually impossible for companies to track you on a VPN (if you use it correctly).
• Encrypt your phone calls (guide here) – Now this may not be for everyone, but if you are an important person, or business, there may be hackers, government entities, or third parties listening in on your phone calls. Sensitive information can be grabbed from these phone calls. Encrypting phone calls is simple, and the best service is only $9.95 per month.

Overall

Your data will be harvested and put on the web no matter what. Its just the need to remove it, keep it off, and keep yourself secure online. Anonymity on the web is key, and it can make it or break it for some people. A lot of companies do background checks on employees, and other various searches. If there is a false report on you on one of those websites (happens all the time), you may not get that job. Or if someone wants your data for malicious purposes and its just sitting out there, it’s free for them too. Overall remove your identity from web, and keep it that way.