Those people-finder web sites like Spokeo or White Pages aggregate personal data by “scraping” your information, then put it all in one place.
Cybersecurity expert Shawn Tuma said you can lessen your presence, but you can never completely delete your personal information, because the original source of the material still exists. At least not in the United States, yet.
“In the EU, there is something called the right to be forgotten that will require the ability to remove yourself from certain sites,” said Tuma.
Removal is a continuous process (that costs more than $100 annually). He said if it’s removed this year, the odds are that it will show back up next year.
To successfully delete most of yourself, you’ll have to pay someone to monitor it forever.
If you have a lot of time, you can also DIY it.
“For the last 20-25 years, we have been riding high enjoying the benefits of technology and cyber. And, now we’re having to kind of pay the piper on the responsibility side and now we don’t like it as much,” said Tuma.
FYI—when you visit porn sites and don’t register to remain anonymous, your IP address is still kept and recorded.