Why a Person Might Want to Remove Online Information

January 26, 2021

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Erase Mugshots specializes in helping people remove online information that puts them in a negative light. This may be information harming their reputation, preventing future employment, hampering dating prospects or hurting social and professional prospects.

Unfortunately, it’s all too common for individuals to search a person’s name and history online. This is true even for something innocuous, such as having one’s kids join an afternoon playgroup. Negative online information, especially criminal information, can often turn a person into somewhat of a pariah in the community.

But while we focus on removing negative online information, it isn’t the only type of data people want removed from the web. An individual worried about stalkers or an abusive ex may want to remove personal information. Others, however, may be victims of financial fraud and want to eliminate the information that made it possible.

In reality, there are countless reasons an individual wants to remove information from the internet. And the end of the day, it’s perfectly reasonable to do so.

The internet is a strange place. And it is understandable why people want to remove information, any type of information, from the web. After all, what a person said in a random forum years ago can come back to haunt them 20, 30 or 40 years later.

Let’s look at how to get those past comments, criminal records, and bad news stories off the web:

Removing Online Information Starts With Social Media

To remove online information posted in the past, start by searching all social profiles associated with your name. Depending on your age, this may take some time. But it is an important step that should not be avoided.

Start by making a list of every social media account you keep. This includes any current accounts, like Facebook and Twitter, and any old accounts like MySpace or your favorite online forum. And yes, MySpace is still operational and hosting old accounts.

Then, visit each site one-by-one. Find the account settings in each one and select deactivation or account removal.

Not sure if you have any active accounts? Search your name and words like “forum” in Google. For example, you might have once gone by DodgersFan18 in an old forum. If so, search “dodgersfan18 + forum” or “dogersfan18 + blog.” Any existing profiles should pop up on results pages.

Do the same with all variations of your real name.

Removing Your Name & Personal Information From News Sites

As you remove all online personas from the digital arena, you are likely to face two big hurdles: 1) news articles, and 2) arrest information.

Let’s talk about that first major hurdle: news sites.

News sites publish articles for any number of reasons. There are certainly good reasons to be in the newspaper. These may include winning an award, participating in a volunteer project, or providing your expertise in a certain area.

All of these are great reasons to be featured on a news blog or website. And, unless you want to remove your online identity for safety reasons, these are things to keep and highlight online.

But while there are plenty of good reasons to be mentioned in an online newspaper, there are also plenty of bad ones. These may include an arrest or criminal charge, involvement in a scandal, or association with a controversial subject you want to cut ties with.

Whatever the case, the good news is there are ways to remove your name from these news sites.

How to remove your name from news sites

The first removal method involves contacting the news site editor directly. For archived articles or those related to criminal matters, the editor may simply agree to remove your name – or at least any identifying information.

But in cases where the editor or site owner refuses to remove your name, you may need to work with a professional removal team like Erase Mugshots. Such teams have experience and proven removal methods, as well as knowledge of what it takes to remove online articles.

A proven removal team also offers services like criminal record expungement. Such services can improve the chances of successful news article removal. They may also show that charges were dismissed to persuade the news organization to remove or limit personal information.

In cases where it’s impossible to remove information from news sites, the next best option is suppression. This method is about more than removing negative information from the web. When your concerns aren’t centered on security, search suppression can help kill stories put your reputation in a bad light.

If you can’t delete a news article altogether, the next best thing is to counter that negative story with good quality content. Optimized content helps push negative items off of results pages, making it hard to find bad info during searches of your name.

This method is best handled by online removal professionals like the team at Erase Mugshots.

Removing Your Online Information From Mugshot Websites

News sites follow certain ethical guidelines when it comes to publishing personal information. But then there are the wild west private publications. Sites like mugshots.com and golookup.com generally grab whatever information they can find and sell it for a fee. These publications are private businesses and operate on looser guidelines.

Some of these sites and organizations also remove your online information for a set fee. Unfortunately, you have to pay each and every website posting your information.

The mugshot removal team at Erase Mugshots helps expedite this process. We work fast to remove your mugshot at the original source. Then, we work to delete all subsequent information.

As with removing online news articles, this strategy tends to be most effective after expunging your records. Showing proof of dismissal of the listed charges also helps, but is not necessary.

When Removal Fails, Call in the Experts

Many online removals can be done alone. You can deactivate social media accounts and clear out bad comments you made in the past. But for those who have arrest information or negative information popping up in search, the best bet is to hire the pros.

The online removal experts at Erase Mugshots help you remove bad results fast. We know how mugshot websites operate, how users behave, and which strategies deliver results as quickly as possible.

To learn more about our services and how we can help remove online information and improve your online reputation, contact our Removal Team today.