Swedes Find Way of Restoring One’s Web Virginity

To help users rid themselves of unused and no longer desired accounts, Wille Dahlbo and Linus Unnebäck created Deseat.me, which offers a way to wipe your entire existence off the internet in a few clicks. After logging into the website with a Google account, it automatically scans for related apps and services for previously created accounts and creates a list of them with handy delete links, pointing to the unsubscribe page.

Depending on how long is needed to work through the entire delete queue, it can return a user to a state of total account-lessness within an hour or so.

One of the reasons why people seek to erase themselves from various accounts is the recent spate of online services being hacked. Unused accounts are an especially appealing target for hackers, which may lead to valuable personal information ending up in the wrong hands.

​Another problem is that online services are constantly bought and sold, thus changing owners. This makes it increasingly difficult to trace down ownership of personal data — or how it is being used.

In general, online services offering to delete digital traces have been around for a while. The main benefit of using Deseat is to avoid the time-consuming process of skimming through detailed instructions. Instead, the end users are provided with quick links.

Another alternative is to simply shut down the computer and toss it into the garbage bin, which is hardly a viable option nowadays.