{"id":193059,"date":"2021-03-03T09:40:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T06:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/"},"modified":"2021-03-03T09:40:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T06:40:09","slug":"how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Delete Your Old Online Accounts (and Why You Should)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a43f4c6a641c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a43f4c6a641c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#Why_You_Should_Close_Those_Old_Accounts\" >Why You Should Close Those Old Accounts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#How_to_Find_Your_Old_Accounts\" >How to Find Your Old Accounts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#How_to_Delete_Your_Old_Accounts\" >How to Delete Your Old Accounts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#What_If_You_Cant_Delete_an_Account\" >What If You Can\u2019t Delete an Account?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#Try_Anonymizing_Accounts_You_Cant_Delete\" >Try Anonymizing Accounts You Can\u2019t Delete<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/#Think_Twice_Before_Signing_up_in_the_Future\" >Think Twice Before Signing up in the Future<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Delete Your Old Online Accounts (and Why You Should)&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714998 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/paper-in-can.jpg\" alt=\"A trash can overflowing with papers.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/paperless-office-alternative-overcrowded-wastebaskets-1162851661\" data-credittext=\"Ralf Geithe\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/paperless-office-alternative-overcrowded-wastebaskets-1162851661\">Ralf Geithe\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ve probably signed up for a lot of online services that you no longer use. Most of those accounts probably still exist, and they likely contain a mix of your personal data, identity details, and credit card numbers. Don\u2019t leave juicy targets lying around for attackers.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_You_Should_Close_Those_Old_Accounts\"><\/span>Why You Should Close Those Old Accounts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We live in an age when data breaches are common.<\/p>\n<p>What h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens if a service is breached and leaks all the personal data you\u2019ve uploaded to it? What happens if a developer goes rogue and abuses saved credit card numbers, spams you, or sells their service to a company that will?<\/p>\n<p>If you reuse passwords, a password leak at one site means that attackers can get access to your accounts at other sites.\u00a0Even assuming that you don\u2019t reuse passwords, the personal data associated with your old, unused account could still give attackers answers to your security questions on other websites.<\/p>\n<p>To protect your privacy, it\u2019s a smart idea to remove your private data from services you no longer use. You can do this by closing those outdated accounts rather than leaving them dormant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Check if Your Password Has Been Stolen<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Find_Your_Old_Accounts\"><\/span>How to Find Your Old Accounts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Step one is finding those old accounts. Here are several tips that can help you find them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Look in Your Password Manager<\/strong>: If you use a password manager to keep track of all your login details, your password manager will effectively be a database of all the accounts you have open. Even if you use your browser\u2019s built-in password manager, it may remember\u00a0many of your accounts. Look through the list of saved logins for accounts you no longer use.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Search Your Email<\/strong>: If you search your email for \u201cwelcome,\u201d \u201cverify,\u201d \u201cyour account,\u201d \u201cfree trial,\u201d and similar phrases found in the \u201cWelcome\u201d emails that many services send, you might discover quite a few old accounts you\u2019ve forgotten about.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, Google, or Twitter<\/strong>: Many services let you \u201csign in\u201d with Facebook, Google, and Twitter accounts to create an account. If you\u2019ve used this feature, check your list of apps connected to your account. Bear in mind that you can\u2019t just \u201cdisconnect\u201d the connection to clear your data. This won\u2019t make the other service actually delete your account.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Visit <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/haveibeenpwned.com\/\">Have I Been Pwned?<\/a><\/strong>: This service shows you which leaks your email address has been a part of. It might remind you of some old accounts\u2014and it\u2019ll show you which publicly available leaks have already contained your data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Secure Your Online Accounts By Removing Third-Party App Access<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Delete_Your_Old_Accounts\"><\/span>How to Delete Your Old Accounts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now you\u2019ve got one or more accounts you want to delete. Actually deleting the account(s) should be the easy part\u2014but unfortunately, it often isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips for finding out how to actually delete an account:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Search for the name of the website or service and \u201cdelete account\u201d using a web search engine like Google or DuckDuckGo.<\/li>\n<li>Check <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/justdelete.me\/\">JustDelete.me<\/a>, which offers a convenient database with instructions for deleting a wide variety of online accounts.<\/li>\n<li>Visit the website\u2019s support website and look for information on deleting accounts. You may also want to check the website\u2019s privacy policy for specific details about when the company deletes data and how you can request deletion.<\/li>\n<li>Contact the website\u2019s support and ask to delete the account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In some cases, you might try to sign in to an account and notice that the service automatically deleted your old account for inactivity\u2014or the service may no longer exist.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, some services provide no way to delete your old accounts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Is DuckDuckGo? Meet the Google Alternative for Privacy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_If_You_Cant_Delete_an_Account\"><\/span>What If You Can\u2019t Delete an Account?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you can\u2019t delete an account, there are things you can do to protect your private data. Sign in to the account and follow these tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Remove any saved financial and payment information, such as saved credit card numbers that make it easy for anyone with access to the account to make purchases.<\/li>\n<li>Delete any private data you have stored in the app. For example, if you have an old account in a note-taking app, to-do app, or calendar service, you\u2019ll want to delete those old notes, tasks, and calendar events. (Remember to export and download anything you want to keep before deleting it.)<\/li>\n<li>Clear saved personal identification details like your name, birthday, shipping address, and other details in the account\u2019s settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you remove all the personal data you can from the account, attackers won\u2019t be able to get much data in a breach.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try_Anonymizing_Accounts_You_Cant_Delete\"><\/span>Try Anonymizing Accounts You Can\u2019t Delete<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After an account is empty of all your other personal information, consider \u201canonymizing\u201d the account by changing the email address and other personal information to something random and meaningless.<\/p>\n<p>For example, perhaps you have an account with the name \u201cSarah\u201d and the email address sarah@example.com. You could change the name to \u201cJake\u201d along with a meaningless email address\u2014perhaps something drawn from an anonymous email service like\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mailinator.com\/\">Mailinator<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, instead of an empty account tied to your name and email address, there\u2019s just an empty account tied to a fake name and email address.<\/p>\n<p>Just think of what would happen if the website\u2019s user database leaked: Attackers would just get a fake name, a fake email address, a fake birthday, and so on. That\u2019s all useless information.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming you\u2019ve erased all your other personal details, this can be almost as good as deleting the account. Sometimes, it\u2019s all you can do.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Think_Twice_Before_Signing_up_in_the_Future\"><\/span>Think Twice Before Signing up in the Future<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ll be honest: Once you start really trying to delete those accounts, it\u2019s surprising how many are difficult or impossible to delete. If you\u2019ve been online for a few decades, it\u2019s very possible you have hundreds of old accounts that you never use these days.<\/p>\n<p>Consider being more selective about what accounts you create in the future. In the future, before you sign up for an account, you might want to consider whether it\u2019s actually worth the trouble. Do you really want to give that service your data?<\/p>\n<p>Even if you just sign up for half as many accounts going forward, that will reduce your privacy \u201cattack surface\u201d\u2014there are fewer sources through which your personal information could be compromised.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/714981\/how-to-delete-your-old-online-accounts-and-why-you-should\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How to Delete Your Old Online Accounts (and Why You Should)&#8221; Ralf Geithe\/Shutterstock.com You\u2019ve probably signed up for a lot of online services that you no longer use. Most of those accounts probably still exist, and they likely contain a mix of your personal data, identity details, and credit card numbers. Don\u2019t leave juicy targets&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":193060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/paper-in-can.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}