The Best Ways To Disappear Without A Trace

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Social media is a pretty normal part of everyday life, but for anyone going on the run, it can ruin all the prep work in the world. Darrin Giglio is the chief investigator of North American Investigations, and a huge part of what he does is conduct missing persons investigations. He explained to Grunge that, while it's almost impossible to completely eliminate your online presence, "Not creating more footprints would start to limit newer data." And for many, that would mean a massive lifestyle adjustment. "You would need to revert back to the time where you do not rely on any technology, social media, or online accounts."

Former CIA agent, author, and security specialist Jason Hanson has shared some tips for disappearing online, and says that, yes, there are some things that you can do to minimize your presence, and that starts with deleting all your social media accounts. But what about all those newsletters you've signed up for, sites you've purchased once from, and others you've given information to? There are services — like DeleteMe — that will take care of erasing all that data for you, and depending on your circumstances, it might be worth it.

That said, don't forget about the more innocuous accounts, too. When The Huffington Post looked at some of the accounts exes used to gain a surprising amount of info about people, they pointed to things like Spotify, Venmo, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Delete 'em!

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