Photos - Maria Eklind - CC BY-SA
Why remove yourself
The reasons why you want to delete an account are different. You may just not need an account on a resource that you are not using. For example, you registered on it several years ago to test the service, but then changed your mind about acquiring a subscription. Or you simply abandoned one application in favor of another.
Leaving unused accounts is also quite dangerous in terms of information security. The number of personal data leaks in the world continues to grow . And one forgotten account can cause them to be compromised. At the end of 2017, specialists from the 4iq information security company discovered the largest database on the network with 1.4 billion stolen “accounts”. At the same time, even a fragment of seemingly “neutral” information (for example, email without a password) can help attackers to collect the missing information about the “victim” for other services where there are his accounts.
On the other hand, although deleting an account is an important aspect of cyber hygiene, on some sites this procedure is not so simple. Sometimes it takes a long time to look for a special button in the settings and even get in touch with tech support. For example, Blizzard specialists may ask you to send a paper application with a signature and a copy of an identity document. In turn, one of the western developers of cloud applications is still processing requests to delete user accounts over the phone. To simplify all these procedures and help the layman “sweep” the information footprint, the JustDeleteMe library was proposed.
How JustDeleteMe Will Help
The site is a database of direct links for closing accounts with brief instructions. Each resource is marked with a color indicating the complexity of this process. Green indicates that the account can be deleted at the touch of a button, and red - you need to write to technical support and perform other actions. All sites can be sorted by complexity or popularity - there is a search by their names.
JustDeleteMe also has an extension for Chrome . It adds a colored dot to the browser omnibar, which reflects how difficult it is to delete data about yourself from the current site. By clicking on this point, you will immediately be taken to a page with a form for closing an account.
It’s easier to delete data about yourself
In addition to JustDeleteMe, other tools appear that help to control your personal data. For example, such a function for their services was recently announced at Google. It automatically deletes the search history and location information of the user every 3-18 months (the period is set by the user). Experts expect that in the future more companies will begin to switch to similar data models.
Also, the IT company practices the so-called “ right to oblivion ”. Under certain conditions, any person may demand to remove their personal data from public access through search engines. For example, in the period from 2014 to 2017, Google satisfied a million requests for the removal of PD from individuals, public figures and politicians.
Photos - Mike Towber - CC BY-SA
Unfortunately, so far there are companies that generally do not allow users to delete personal data. Even large organizations - the GoDaddy domain name registrar or the DHL delivery service - “sin” this. Interestingly, Hacker News, where JustDeleteMe was actively discussed, also does not delete user accounts. This fact caused resentment among residents.
But, probably, such resources will soon be forced to revise their work processes. Sites that do not allow you to close your account violate the requirements of the GDPR. In particular, article 17 of the regulation states that the user should be able to completely delete data about himself.
European regulators have not yet paid attention to violations by small companies, focusing on large data leaks, and niche resources manage to avoid responsibility. Although experts say that in the near future the situation may change. In April, the Danish regulator imposed the first penalty for delaying the deadline for the removal of PD. Taxa taxi service received it - the amount exceeded 160 thousand euros. It can be expected that such situations will attract additional attention to this issue and the process of deleting personal data from different services will become easier.
On the other hand, the question of the actual deletion of personal data from company servers will remain. But the trend for its wide discussion will certainly continue to gain momentum.
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