‘There are services that will erase you from the internet.’
I wonder about that when my private search engine, Ixquick, started using Google to perform its searches.
I used facebook for a few days and then removed the damned thing. Called my sister and chewed her out for showing photos of her then young children. My old girlfriends are all grannies now and I have never felt so old. Lot of memories though.
I am happy to kick in a few bucks from my massive disability check, I’d just waste it on food anyway.
A very cursory search turned up ways to do it yourself or to confuse accounts that won’t delete and a complete paid service (Albine) that is about $130/year and will check every few months to keep you private. I imagine there are other paid services. Depends on how much time you have.
StartPage also is “enhanced by Google”, but doesn’t archive your searches.
I do use Google for short translations. It’s just faster, as the translate boxes simply appear at the top of the search.
Spokeo and the other sites that show location and relatives are the ones I’d eliminate first. Most people curious about someone aren’t so curious they’ll pay for extended search.
AdBlockPlus and the non-archived searches mean I don’t even see many ads when AdBlock is disabled, as some sites now require.