Protecting your identity online is essential for your brand, reputation and credit worthiness, far more important than updating your Instagram and Facebook every day˳ Several times a year the news will cover a serious data breach of information being held by major banks, insurance companies and/or social media platforms˳ Once the data is taken, it can be misused or even lead to identity theft˳ Deleting your old social media accounts is a vital step to help ensure some measure of identity protection˳ It is imperative that you keep your online access to your current accounts safe and protected and delete any old accounts˳
Here is a guide that will help you delete your old accounts on the most popular social media sites˳
Facebook
Moving onto the biggest social network platform of all time, Facebook, with over a billion users, keeps things simple and makes it incredibly easy for you to deactivate your account˳
Once you go into the “settings” tab from the down arrow in your browser, select your Facebook information and then select delete your account and information”˳ When you are in this menu you will go to delete your account and must add the password to confirm˳
Foursquare
Foursquare hit the internet over a decade ago to let friends know where you are and figuring out where they are˳ In order to delete your Foursquare account, you will have to access the platform from your computer˳ Move onto the “privacy” settings tab where you have to scroll to the end of the page and find an option to delete your account˳ When you select this option you will go to a page where you need to confirm whether you want to delete your account or not˳
Google
Google is the undisputed search engine leader with one of the most interconnected ecosystems˳ By creating one account for Google you are able to access a plethora of different applications and websites without having to create separate accounts˳ In order to delete your Google+ or Gmail account, you will need to delete your entire Google account˳
Go to “Google account settings” and choose “delete account and services”˳ There you will see the “delete products” option, where you can access all of your Google applications˳ You need to sign in to all of the websites first before you can delete your account˳
Instagram
Facebook’s younger brother is possibly the most used social media platform by Millennials, according to Hootsuite˳ Thanks to its focus on visual communication, it is the go-to place in order to find talented artists˳
Deleting your account is very simple and takes little time to properly accomplish˳ While you can manage your privacy settings using the mobile app, you must go through an internet browser in order to delete your account˳ Simply go to the “delete your account page”, and there you will have to provide a reason for deleting your account˳ Once you provide the reason, you will provide your password and then select the option to permanently delete the account˳
Linked In
LinkedIn is the social network for professionals looking for new opportunities to connect with other professionals and grow their business and careers˳ If you are on the platform, the profile should be complete and up-to-date˳ If you are no longer using the platform, delete the account˳ At the top right corner of any page of LinkedIn, you will first have to access the “privacy and settings” tab˳ From there, choose the “account” tab and then select closing your LinkedIn account˳ You will have to give your feedback and verify your account before you can delete it˳ From there you will see a post telling you of the consequences of deleting your account and then the final page which will be for confirmation˳
MySpace
This social media platform has been bought and sold several times since its glory days (2005 to 2009)˳ In 2016 their database was breached and leaked to a dark market website˳ To delete your MySpace account, you will first have to login to the account that you want to delete˳ From there, select the “gear” icon and choose the “account” tab˳ There, you will see an option to delete your account˳ Before you can delete your account you will have to provide a reason after which you will receive an email for confirmation˳ Open the email and follow its instructions˳
Pinterest
Pinterest is a web-based pinboard or bulletin board, a place to bookmark images found online˳ To delete your Pinterest account you will first have to go to the triple dot icon on the website and select the “edit settings” option˳ From there you will have to go down to the “account” page and select “deactivate account”˳ From there you will click “yes” to receive an email, which you need to open and follow in order to permanently delete your account˳
Snapchat
Snapchat is a service that, for a short time, rivaled Facebook and was the go-to social media app for many people˳ As is the case with Instagram, you cannot delete your account from the mobile app; you must delete it from a proper browser˳
From the website browser, go to “delete your account” and enter your username and password˳ Your account does not delete instantly and it takes about 30 days to remove all of the information˳
Twitter
Regardless of how famous your really are, everyone has a Twitter handle˳ Many people follow and get their news from the tweets of everyone from legitimate newsmakers and media organizations to raving fans of our favorite sport teams˳ Deleting your Twitter account is incredibly easy˳ It takes at least 30 days for all of your tweets to get deleted˳ Select “settings and privacy” from the form on the menu and go into the account tab˳ From there you will have to deactivate your account and enter your password to confirm the action˳
Tumblr
Tumblr probably has one of the most bustling communities on the internet, which is also why it is very easy for anyone to delete their account˳ While you are able to delete your account, the content other people have reposted will remain available on the site˳ To delete your account, click on the person-shaped icon on the website, and go to “settings”˳ There select “delete account”, entering your email and password to confirm the process˳ Tumblr also states that it takes them a few days to properly wipe all of your content˳
Whatsapp
Whatsapp is a free messaging app to send Voice over IP (VoIP), images, video calls and documents using a mobile device˳ To delete your account, simply open your Whatsapp and go to the “settings” menu˳ From there, select account and go to “Delete my account”, after which you will have to enter your phone number in international code and tap “delete”˳
YouTube
YouTube is second only to Facebook as a social media platform, owned by Alphabet, the owner the parent company of Google˳ A well-managed channel can help to improve website ratings˳ A channel not in use should be deleted˳ Deleting your channel from the largest video-sharing platform on the internet is quite simple˳ You will first have to sign into your YouTube account and go to your advanced settings˳ From there, choose “delete channel” and then opt for “delete channel permanently”˳ This will launch a prompt where you can confirm if you want to delete your channel or would still like to keep it˳
Final Words of Advice
According to industry experts and a recent article in Consumer Reports, it is a best practice to reduce the risk of having your personal and professional data being misused or stolen by keep your current accounts secure and deleting accounts no longer in use˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?How-to-Deleted-Online-Social-Media-Accounts-No-Longer-In-Use&id=10067885