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Question: has anyone used tools like DeleteMe and Optery to remove their data from the web? Curious to hear thoughts, opinions, experiences. https://joindelete

Question: has anyone used tools like DeleteMe and Optery to remove their data from the web? Curious to hear thoughts, opinions, experiences. https://joindeleteme.com/ https://joindeleteme.com/ https://www.optery.com/ https://www.optery.com/

PonderingPirate 3y ago
I can confirm that DeleteMe works.
dheera 3y ago
I used OneRep for a while, but moved to Optery after finding OneRep seemed to be a bit shady.
- Vinnl 3y ago
  What seemed shady about OneRep?
  - opteryology 3y ago
    OneRep has affiliate partnerships with data brokers (https://imgur.com/a/juSC66b https://imgur.com/a/juSC66b).
    - Vinnl 3y ago
      Ah, thanks for sharing that.
opteryology 3y ago
There are a couple of in-depth threads here on HN discussing the different companies you mentioned. Here is one in particular that includes some people sharing reviews, plus Optery's CEO going into detail on the different data removal companies: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30605010 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30605010 If you're interested in these services, a good approach is to sign up for each company’s free scan and compare the results. Full disclosure: I am on the team at Optery
hunson_abadeer 3y ago
I've been using DeleteMe. It generally works well, with two caveats: 1. They seem to largely rely on automated or semi-automated workflows, and that sometimes breaks down. For me, they removed ~95% of the stuff, but I could still find some breadcrumbs in web searches, and need to file a couple more opt-outs manually. It might be less of a problem if your online footprint is small. 2. They target "frontend" sites, rather than the actual data brokers. This cleans up search results, but doesn't necessarily remove from the commercial databases that are available to commercial and institutional users. Because the frontends come and go, it also means that if you cancel your subscription, you will probably go back to square one in 2-5 years.
kanary 3y ago
These services are great and the best ones will cover removals across more sources than just data brokers. They are in the category of "Authorized Agents". Take a look at https://www.kanary.com https://www.kanary.com too - yc grant awardee in 2018.
ryanwhitney 3y ago
I work for Kanary (similar to the aforementioned) but have avoided doing manual opt-outs or escalating items to our team in order to get the realistic experience. It's worked well for me. Outside of info on my own site, there's only one broker that's exposing an old address. That one was newly found or resurfaced within the past month, so it should be gone soon. I moved in December and my new address is not at all findable in correlation with my name, which is awesome. That said, I think the sibling comment by hunson_abadeer about "95%" sets the right expectation for most. It's a constant whack-a-mole: we're always improving our strategies while data brokers multiply and find new datasets, which they use to resurface previously-removed profiles. Happy to answer any questions.

PonderingPirate 3y ago

I can confirm that DeleteMe works.

dheera 3y ago

I used OneRep for a while, but moved to Optery after finding OneRep seemed to be a bit shady.

Vinnl 3y ago
What seemed shady about OneRep?
- opteryology 3y ago
  OneRep has affiliate partnerships with data brokers (https://imgur.com/a/juSC66b https://imgur.com/a/juSC66b).
  - Vinnl 3y ago
    Ah, thanks for sharing that.

opteryology 3y ago

There are a couple of in-depth threads here on HN discussing the different companies you mentioned. Here is one in particular that includes some people sharing reviews, plus Optery's CEO going into detail on the different data removal companies: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30605010 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30605010 If you're interested in these services, a good approach is to sign up for each company’s free scan and compare the results. Full disclosure: I am on the team at Optery

hunson_abadeer 3y ago

I've been using DeleteMe. It generally works well, with two caveats: 1. They seem to largely rely on automated or semi-automated workflows, and that sometimes breaks down. For me, they removed ~95% of the stuff, but I could still find some breadcrumbs in web searches, and need to file a couple more opt-outs manually. It might be less of a problem if your online footprint is small. 2. They target "frontend" sites, rather than the actual data brokers. This cleans up search results, but doesn't necessarily remove from the commercial databases that are available to commercial and institutional users. Because the frontends come and go, it also means that if you cancel your subscription, you will probably go back to square one in 2-5 years.

kanary 3y ago

These services are great and the best ones will cover removals across more sources than just data brokers. They are in the category of "Authorized Agents". Take a look at https://www.kanary.com https://www.kanary.com too - yc grant awardee in 2018.

ryanwhitney 3y ago

I work for Kanary (similar to the aforementioned) but have avoided doing manual opt-outs or escalating items to our team in order to get the realistic experience. It's worked well for me. Outside of info on my own site, there's only one broker that's exposing an old address. That one was newly found or resurfaced within the past month, so it should be gone soon. I moved in December and my new address is not at all findable in correlation with my name, which is awesome. That said, I think the sibling comment by hunson_abadeer about "95%" sets the right expectation for most. It's a constant whack-a-mole: we're always improving our strategies while data brokers multiply and find new datasets, which they use to resurface previously-removed profiles. Happy to answer any questions.