Escape the Clutches of Data Brokers: Learn How to Erase Your Online Footprint Now!

In today’s digital age, it is almost impossible to avoid creating a digital footprint. Every time you browse the internet, use social media, or shop online, you leave a trail of personal information that can be used by data brokers to track your movements and sell your data to third parties. This can not only lead to an invasion of your privacy but also expose you to identity theft, phishing scams, and other cyber crimes.

If you are concerned about your online privacy and want to take back control of your data, then here are some steps you can take to erase your online footprint:

Step 1: Conduct a Search on Yourself

The first step to erasing your online footprint is to find out what information is already out there. Conduct a search on yourself using different search engines and see where your name appears. Check out the results on social media platforms and professional networking websites. If you find any information that you want to remove, make a note of it.

Step 2: Edit Your Social Media Profiles

Social media is one of the primary culprits when it comes to exposing your personal information. Review your privacy settings on social media platforms and limit the information that is available to the public. Remove any personal information that you don’t want to share, including your phone number, address, and email address.

Step 3: Delete Unwanted Accounts

If you have accounts on websites or apps that you no longer use, delete them. This will not only help to reduce your digital footprint but also prevent those platforms from collecting any more of your data.

Step 4: Use a VPN

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are an excellent way to protect your online privacy. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address, making it difficult for data brokers to track your movements. Use a VPN whenever you browse the internet to reduce your digital footprint.

Step 5: Check Your Credit Report

Data brokers can use your financial information to target you with phishing scams and identity theft. Check your credit report regularly to ensure that there are no unauthorized inquiries or fraudulent activities.

Conclusion

Erasing your online footprint is not an easy task, but it is essential to protect your privacy and personal information. Follow these steps to take back control of your digital life and prevent data brokers from profiting off your data. Remember, the only way to truly protect your privacy is to be vigilant and proactive in safeguarding your personal information.

Each piece of data a platform obtains about you provides advertisers and marketers more tools to sell their products with. Microtargeting and intrusive ad tracking are simply side effects surrounding this massive exchange of data. Tap or click here to see how to stop platforms like Facebook from tracking you across the web. But most, if not all, data collection services don’t seem to have your best interests in mind. In fact, many explicitly mine data from across the web to sell to other firms. And now, one of these platforms is attracting attention for its slick web design and massive database of contact information. Here’s how you can remove your data from it.

This data broker is more than it appears to be

If you aren’t familiar with data brokers, you should be — because they’re definitely familiar with you. These platforms exist to aggregate data on individuals for the purpose of research, investigation and marketing. And once they’ve collected a substantial number of profiles, they’ll often sell the data to advertisers and other brokers for top dollar prices. At this point, you might be asking yourself “How did I even get on a data broker platform?” Well, don’t worry, you didn’t sign up for it, and you probably weren’t hacked either. These platforms typically purchase or scrape data from social media profiles on platforms like Facebook, which we already know contain troves of information about you. Want to see everything Facebook knows about you? Tap or click here to find out. But one platform, in particular, has attracted a good deal of attention due to its slick design and roundabout way of describing its service. Apollo.io presents itself as a data-driven firm that helps businesses find new prospects to contact for marketing purposes. That’s all well and good, but when you see the mention of more than 200 million “prospects” baked right into the platform, that means it’s aggregated data from millions of profiles so users of the service can contact the people behind them. In other words, it’s a dream come true for call centers, ad trackers and anyone hungry for millions of profile’s worth of data. What’s more, you may be surprised to see yourself on the platform if you bother to try the service out. While Apollo.io doesn’t explicitly say where it’s obtained its data from, it does mention it’s collected troves of information from LinkedIn, the social media platform for business professionals and job-seekers. Tap or click here to see how LinkedIn helps you find new talent for your business without the sketchiness of a data broker. Of course, if you want to preserve your privacy, there is a way to remove yourself from Apollo.io. You just have to contact them and ask for your data to be removed.

I don’t want more advertisers calling or emailing me! How do I get off Apollo.io?

Apollo’s website lists two separate contact forms to remove you or your company from its platform. But don’t be fooled — the platform doesn’t make this process easy. One of the email addresses it has listed doesn’t work and then to even get to the form, you have to email another address. But don’t worry, we did the work for you. Just use this link here and enter your information.. Of course, you may want to check if you’re actually included in the company’s database first before firing off an email. While we wouldn’t recommend signing up for the trial with your real email address (why give them more data?), we’d advise creating a burner email address for just this occasion. Tap or click here for a free way to create burner email addresses. But keep in mind: Apollo isn’t the only data broker on the web, and removing yourself from all of them can be a time consuming and frustrating process. Don’t worry, we have a guide that will show you how to contact these platforms and remove your data so you can take back control of your privacy. Tap or click here to see how to put a stop to data brokers once and for all.