Is it best to keep personal life to the public limited? Obviously yes I think so. How far do we take it is the question. DO i just one day go ghost and delete all social accounts and apps. Stick with only using my phone number and email? I know that emails and phone numbers are not very secure because they can still be seen by govs but I means what do I do? I want to be a ghost I don't want to be easily searched up. How do I go about this personal deletion?
Don't just delete everything in a panic. Deleting doesn't mean the data is gone from servers. Start by poisoning your data or mass-deleting posts with Redact. Switch to Proton and use aliasing for everything. If you really want to be a ghost, study OSINT from Michael Bazzell so you know what you're up against.
If you want to be a digital ghost, the first thing you need to accept is that there is no such thing. At least not without running off into the wilderness and leaving civilization behind.
Another commenter already mentioned Redact, which is good. Deleting things on the internet doesn't really delete them, Usually, it just sets a flag in a database that says "don't show this anymore" but it is still very much accessable to the company, to LE, any anyone that service pimps out your data too.
Then, you need to start thinking what you are willing to tolerate. Simply having a phone on your person will generate an absurd amount of data and sell it to god knows who. I'm talking a full location tracking, where you've been, how long you were there, who you were with etc. Do you want to still own a phone? Are you willing to constantly turn it on and off to reduce tracking but still have it with you? What about spending money on more privacy oriented devices like a Pixel with GrapheneOS or a Linux phone like the Librum 5?
And maybe you DO want a social media presence. Maintaing a very plain fb page or insta that you update twice a year is far less suspious than having none at all. As somebody who has been off social media for almost 10 years now, I can tell you that saying "I don't have a facebook/insta/etc" is pretty much garanteed to raise eyebrows and draw interest.
Avoiding mass surveillance tech like flock cameras, facial recognition, license plate scanners, etc. is it's own nightmare. You can't hide from what you don't know, and you can't hide from things that don't exist yet. For example, dodging every single camera possible would be impossible and even attempting that would make eveyone think you've gone insane. But who knows what future surveilance systems will be capable of? Maybe some super ai will be able to go back though 10 year old gas station footage and compare it to video from a nearby atm and blah blah blah and put you in jail for something you did a decade ago.
Imagine just how horrifying it must have been for criminals when LE first introduced DNA testing. This allowed them to go back and solve crimes commited decades ago.
It all depends on what you want, and how much time, money, and frustration you are willing to pay to get it.
Another commenter already mentioned Redact, which is good. Deleting things on the internet doesn't really delete them, Usually, it just sets a flag in a database that says "don't show this anymore" but it is still very much accessable to the company, to LE, any anyone that service pimps out your data too.
Then, you need to start thinking what you are willing to tolerate. Simply having a phone on your person will generate an absurd amount of data and sell it to god knows who. I'm talking a full location tracking, where you've been, how long you were there, who you were with etc. Do you want to still own a phone? Are you willing to constantly turn it on and off to reduce tracking but still have it with you? What about spending money on more privacy oriented devices like a Pixel with GrapheneOS or a Linux phone like the Librum 5?
And maybe you DO want a social media presence. Maintaing a very plain fb page or insta that you update twice a year is far less suspious than having none at all. As somebody who has been off social media for almost 10 years now, I can tell you that saying "I don't have a facebook/insta/etc" is pretty much garanteed to raise eyebrows and draw interest.
Avoiding mass surveillance tech like flock cameras, facial recognition, license plate scanners, etc. is it's own nightmare. You can't hide from what you don't know, and you can't hide from things that don't exist yet. For example, dodging every single camera possible would be impossible and even attempting that would make eveyone think you've gone insane. But who knows what future surveilance systems will be capable of? Maybe some super ai will be able to go back though 10 year old gas station footage and compare it to video from a nearby atm and blah blah blah and put you in jail for something you did a decade ago.
Imagine just how horrifying it must have been for criminals when LE first introduced DNA testing. This allowed them to go back and solve crimes commited decades ago.
It all depends on what you want, and how much time, money, and frustration you are willing to pay to get it.
you can start to disappear slowly, delete your infos from web slowly