David Hall
Deleting your social network accounts from the internet, or simply choosing to have less of an online presence, can be a difficult task. The first step is deciding which accounts you want to close down (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc). The second (and most time consuming) step is finding where to do it.
Frustrated by the complexity of such an endeavor, Robb Lewis, a UK-based developer, created an online directory called JustDelete.me. This website is a directory of urls that connects you to the page on each social media site that allows you to delete your account.
If you click the “show info” link under each social media provider, JustDelete.me will show you how to delete your account from that site. It is important to note that some sites require you to call in order to delete your account, and some do not even offer account deletion.
Each website is color-coded based on the difficulty to close your account. If the social networking site offers the ability to delete your account easily, they will be shown in green and marked “Easy”. If the website has caveats or additional simple steps required, it will be shown as yellow and labelled “Medium”. If the website requires complex steps to be taken, like a phone call or faxing back a consent form, it will be colored red and marked “Hard”. If the social media site will not allow you to delete your account, it will be colored black and marked “Impossible”. For example, Digg is “Hard” to delete your account while Twitter is “Easy”.
I highly recommend that you bookmark this page, so the next time that you want to leave an social networking service, it will help you delete yourself from the internet that much faster. You may also want to consider reviewing this site before opening an account so that you will know in advance how difficult it will be to delete your account if you are no longer interested.