Letting go of the accounts that no longer reflect you

Orphaned accounts are accounts you created but forgot about or no longer use. Orphaned accounts can make you vulnerable if they contain or share data - images, videos, posts - that no longer represent you, your values, or your work. You may have also shared information about yourself at a time when it didn’t feel as sensitive to your safety as it may be today.

We came, we saw, we were forced to create an account. So many of us come of age online, and what of our lives we left behind - your long-forgotten Live Journal, your first Medium blog - at best is cringe, and at worst, shares information about you that you’d no longer like to be publicly-available.

Brightlines will find most of the public-facing accounts you’ve set up over the course of your online life, and flag anything that looks like it’s not in regular use. In some cases, the account appears orphaned, but  you actually use the account just to view content, not post. Our guidance for those accounts is to secure them well. See more on that here. 

Shut it down

In cases where you no longer use the account, we recommend closing the account where possible. Deleting your old accounts can be a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process. Here are some guidelines to speed that process up:

• Stand on the shoulders of giants. Google “how to delete [company name] account” and you’ll often find instructions. Consumer Reports has written a step-by-step guide to deleting two dozen common accounts.

• Setting(s) the scene. Companies can hide the delete button in all kinds of places. Start with your account settings, account security and privacy, and settings in general.

• Check the fine print. Look for the company’s privacy policy, often in the footer of their website. Privacy policies often include instructions, and you can do a CTRL+F search for words like “delete,” “close,” or “deletion.”

• California dreaming. Take advantage of your state’s privacy laws. California’s law, CCPA, requires most businesses to let state residents delete data collected from them. Companies don’t have to fulfill a deletion request if you’re not a resident, but some honor requests from anyone. Look for “California” or “CCPA” in privacy policies for details.

Deny, deny!

Can't delete an account? Turn it into a hodgepodge of silly stuff, not related to you, and remove anything that could cause you harm: 

• Sign in and remove any stored financial information.

• Delete any personal data saved within the app or service, such as posts, messages, and pages, notes, tasks, and events. Export anything you want to keep. Use BlockParty to delete posts and messages automatically.

• Replace personal identification details like your name, birthday, address, and other personal info in the account settings, with fake, made up details. 

• Change the email address and any remaining personal details to random, meaningless information.
  

By purging all identifiable data, you minimize the risks if that account is ever part of a data breach.

See more on Consumer Reports, BitDefender, BackgroundChecks.