In order to take steps in removing information from the internet, you will first need to know what is out there. Doing a simple Google search will certainly come up with some information, but not everything you need to know. Getting a complete picture is possible by doing a personal online background check. To find out how to erase yourself from the internet and discover what is out there we have come up with a few solutions to help you out.
What is an Online Background Check
If you’re interviewing for a new job title, moving into a new apartment or applying to get a travel visa, it is likely that you will have to undergo a background check. A background check will compile personal information about you, which is normally used to determine whether or not you are eligible to move into a new place or whether you are the right fit for a new job. It can also tell you about any information that you might not want to have on the World Wide Web.
You will definitely want to know what comes up on these checks so you can remove the info from Google. Online background checks scan for legal information as well as your financial situation. Another reason you might want to run an online background check is for your own online safety.
Information that can be found online include:
- Your full name, address, telephone number
- Education history
- Bank account numbers
- Login information
- Account credentials
- Health information
- Identification numbers such as your Social Security number, tax ID number or passport number
Unfortunately, there are plenty of cybercriminals lurking on the web hoping to get their hands on this sort of information. Online thieves can find this type of information in data breaches, social media platforms, blogs, and from your browsing habits.
A great online background check is simple to use and will only require you to enter a few details such as your full name and your state in order to find out everything that is on public record. From there, you will be able to look into how to erase yourself from the internet as well as how to remove public information from the internet. There are plenty of services that remove information from the internet, but we’ll get into that in a minute.
An online background check will come up with the following information:
- Your full name
- Known aliases
- Known relatives
- Address details
- Telephone details
- Arrests
- Convictions of felonies and misdemeanors
- Court records
- Warrants
- Sex offenses
- Incarceration records
- SSN information
- Credit report (accounts placed for collection, loan information, bankruptcies)
- Driving records
- Employment history
- Educational history
- Character references
The great thing about an online background check is that it takes virtually no time at all for your results to come in. Within five minutes, you should have a comprehensive report of what is out there so you can take the necessary steps as to how to remove bad information from the internet.
Best Background Check Services For Collecting Information About Yourself Online
#1 BeenVerified
This company was founded back in 2007 and is based in New York City. With more than 100,000 subscribers it boasts as many as 10 million visits on a monthly basis. BeenVerified does a fantastic job of seamlessly providing you with a full report in just minutes and has one of the best price points on the market at the moment.
If you are new to this process, you will appreciate the clean website as well as the easy to read format of the report. Users also have the option of downloading a printable PDF document straight to their device if needed.
Upon signing up, you will have a comprehensive tutorial as to the dos and don’ts of doing an online background check. You will have the option of performing a standard search which will come up with the following information:
- Public phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Residential history
- Immediate relatives (also noting those that have deceased)
- Educational information
- Imposters
- Social media information
- Photos
- Criminal records
- Traffic records
- Bankruptcies
For an added fee, you will also be able to see additional educational, employment, financial, and contact information. Another feature that we love is social media monitoring, which alerts you to any changes in the social media presence of anyone that you have searched for.
If you need help with your report or with using the BeenVerified platform, you can always contact online assistance on the BeenVerified website seven days a week.
The cool thing about BeenVerified is the apps available, which put billions of public data points at your fingertips. As stated on the website,
“Whether you’re at your desktop or on the go, you can search what matters to you: people, phone numbers, email addresses, and property records. With apps for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches or Android devices, we have an option for everyone. Plus, we save past reports you’ve run so that you can easily access them.”
You can sign up with BeenVerified for $22.86 per month, $14.86 per month for three months, or $9.83 per month for six months. Whilst it might be a little pricier than other services, the great thing about BeenVerified is that it affords you a comprehensive search that most other companies won’t provide you with.
Read more about BeenVerified in our extensive review.
Run Background Checks And Get Information With BeenVerified Right Now
#2 PeopleLooker
Compared to other services of its kind, PeopleLooker is relatively fast. If you wish to perform a search all you need to do is type in their first and last name, as well as their city and state. It will take no more than two minutes for your report to be ready. PeopleLooker will come up with a list of people that match your search allowing you to choose the relevant person and reading the report.
The interface of the website is simple and straightforward, but if you get stuck along the way you can always call the toll free number to clear things up. Searching millions of online records there are different ways to look people up, including by name. This type of report will come up with the following:
- Full name
- Maiden name
- Age
- Known aliases
- Address history with “last seen” date
- Current address
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Satellite imagery and access to an in-depth property report for current addresses
On the other hand, you can always undergo a property search which will enable you:
- An individual’s current and historical real estate assets with detailed property info
- Satellite maps
- Property tax amounts
- Home value
- Building specs.
- Buyer/seller info
- Sales prices
- Co-owners
- Parcel numbers
- Country assessor data
If you want to perform an email search, you will find out contact information like their name, phone number, job history, photographs, and education history. On the other hand, there is a criminal search which will uncover the truth as to:
- Arrest or conviction records
- Outstanding Warrants
- Traffic violations
- Speeding tickets
- Detailed offense records, including the date and location of the crime
- Federal, state, county, and local court databases
- Most Wanted lists
PeopleLooker is priced at $18.28 per month and allows you unlimited reports, unlimited sex offender searches, criminal records, email, property, and phone look-ups.
The three-month plan costs less at $14.62 and provides the same. It should be noted that the three-month subscription is billed as a lump sum. The great thing about People Looker is that it has a custom app for both iOS and Android devices which means you can do your searches on the go.
Read more about People Looker in our extensive review.
How to Erase Yourself From The Internet and Removing Information from the Internet: A Guide
Remove My Private Information from the Internet
If you keep wondering how to remove negative information from the internet, you first need to decide how private you wish to be. Everyone has a different concept of privacy, with some people being comfortable with having their photos online, while others struggling with unease at the thought of having strangers know what they look like. Be deciding what information you would like to protect will narrow down your project. In general, things like your home address, high school photos as well as names of family members and financial information is a great place to begin.
First, consider all your social media profiles. Are they private or are they open to the public? Secondly, go through your privacy settings and think about the photos you are sharing with your friends (and their friends) as well as your contact information. If you have a business and wish to share your content on platforms such as Instagram, you can always create a separate account that can be left public, while your personal profile can remain private.
If you haven’t used your Facebook account in years, the truth is that many platforms like Facebook will have a lot of your personal information. If you wish to remove yourself from the internet completely, you will have to detach yourself from these profiles. Remember, deleting and deactivating your account isn’t the same thing, so make sure you look into settings to make sure you’re on the right path.
Honestly, virtually anyone can get information about you that is found on public records. There are data brokers that aggregate information about you and with so much information floating around the internet, you could be a target of random trolls hassling you by getting information from such brokers.
There are services that remove information from the internet. If you wish to remove your information from these data brokers, you will have to contact each of them and request to opt-out. You can find out more information about that here. It might be time-consuming, but as soon as you have done it once with each company, you won’t have to repeat the process and they will no longer be able to use your information.
There is also a service called DeleteMe which can remove your personal information from leading data broker sites allowing you to reduce your online footprint as well as removes your info from Google search results.
Another excellent step in controlling your online privacy is to remove any unnecessary apps on your mobile phone or tablet. These often note details like your name, email address, geographical location, and spending habits.
If you don’t know whether an app is trustworthy, you can always check out its Terms of Use and find out what information about you is being collected, whether it is stored and if it is ever shared with third parties. Think about the permissions as well, while apps like Skype will obviously need to have access to your microphone, realistically, a camera filter app shouldn’t need that type of access.
Once you have deleted all of the information that you do not wish to be on the internet, you should take further precautions in staying private online. The best way to do so is by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This tool is fantastic as it protects you from third-party scammers, your ISP, and any government agencies. These parties have been known to monitor online use, sell your information to the highest bidder, and even throttle your internet connection.
A VPN works by sending your online data through an encrypted tunnel to a secure server in any location in the world. By selecting a server in another location, you encrypt your online data and make it virtually impossible for anyone to track you.
Conclusion
Removing information from the internet is essential especially if you believe there is negative content circling the web. By using an online background search on yourself, you will be able to find out exactly what is out there so you can take the necessary steps to remove it.
Remember, deleting this information will only go so far when it comes to your online protection. Using a VPN to use the internet will ensure your online security and peace of mind.