{"id":170356,"date":"2023-06-06T02:03:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T09:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=170356"},"modified":"2024-11-19T08:28:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T16:28:16","slug":"cleanup-on-aisle-six-how-to-close-online-accounts-for-savings-and-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/privacy-identity-protection\/cleanup-on-aisle-six-how-to-close-online-accounts-for-savings-and-security\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Close Online Accounts for Savings and Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many online accounts do you have? Dozens? Hundreds? You probably have more than you think, and deleting a bunch of them might be the right call. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You have two good <\/span>reasons<\/span>: savings and security.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Certainly, you have trusted accounts you use all the time, like the one with your bank and a few others with major retailers. Yet you probably have armloads of other accounts on top of those. Within that broader mix, you\u2019ll find accounts for apps, streaming services, online publications, and for retailers where you made one-off purchases years ago.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, you still access some of them occasionally. Yet there are plenty of other accounts you don\u2019t. And there might be some you\u2019re still paying for too. Closing them down can certainly save you some money.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet there\u2019s a security <\/span>issue,<\/span> too. The more online accounts you keep, the greater <\/span>the exposure<\/span> you have to data breaches. Each account will have varying degrees of personal and financial information <\/span>linked<\/span> to it. And that means each one carries a varying degree of risk if it gets breached. Moreover, some sites and services protect data better than others, which adds another dimension of risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Closing old and particularly risky accounts can decrease the risk of your personal and financial information winding up in the hands of an identity thief.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And there\u2019s one more reason why you might consider cleaning up your old accounts. Your privacy. Companies hold all kinds of personal information in their databases. If you\u2019re not using an account anymore, why should a company have it?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With security and savings in mind, McAfee created Online Account Cleanup<\/a>. It finds and requests the deletion of unused accounts and protects your personal data from data breaches as a result. Monthly scans across your online accounts shows a risk level for each account and helps you decide which ones to delete.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And now is certainly a good time to trim down those accounts\u2014<\/span>about<\/span> half a <\/span>billion<\/span><\/i> data records were exposed worldwide<\/span><\/a> between 2020 and 2022. And those are the reported figures. Actual figures are arguably higher.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In all, <\/span>Online Account Cleanup<\/span> can help you take charge of your personal and financial information <\/span>at<\/span> a time where bad actors prize it so highly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How McAfee\u2019s Online Account Cleanup helps put you in charge<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Our Online Account Cleanup lets you view all your accounts tied to your email in one place and helps you decide which ones you want to delete. It assigns a risk level to each of the accounts based on how much personal information is usually shared with each company, as well as past breaches and industry breach potential.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you decide to delete an account, it links you to the website in question. From there, it shows you how you can request to have your data deleted from their database. If you\u2019re a <\/span>McAfee+ Ultimate<\/span><\/a> customer, it can take care of this part for you with a single click.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Online Account Cleanup will continue <\/span>to run<\/span> monthly scans to find any new online accounts so you can stay on top of your digital footprint.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How McAfee\u2019s Online Account Cleanup works<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

1) Scan for accounts<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

You can scan whichever email address you <\/span>select<\/span>. Scanning an email inbox is the best way to see how many companies or organizations have access to your information. Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019re only looking for company email domains, welcome emails, timestamps, and most importantly\u2014spam.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you decide to let McAfee help you request data deletion, we\u2019ll keep tabs on the email replies you receive from the companies requesting more information or confirming that your data has been deleted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Review and delete accounts<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The risk level next to each account is calculated based on how much personal information each company or organization is likely to have access to and the breach potential for the company\u2019s industry. The more important the info, such as credit card, Social Security Number, driver\u2019s license number, the higher the risk. If the organization is in an industry with a low breach <\/span>potential,<\/span> like government agencies, the risk will be lower. Keep in mind, risk level <\/span>doesn’t<\/span> mean your specific account is more or less susceptible to getting hacked.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the accounts you choose to delete, we\u2019ll provide you <\/span>with instructions<\/span> on how to send a deletion request and link you to the company\u2019s website. Or if you\u2019re using McAfee+ Ultimate, we\u2019ll send the request for you with a single click.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3) Recurring monitoring<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ll scan each month to keep you up to date on new accounts. When combined with other McAfee features like <\/span>identity monitoring<\/span><\/a>, transaction monitoring, and <\/span>Personal Data Cleanup<\/span><\/a>, plus <\/span>credit monitoring<\/span><\/a> and a <\/span>VPN<\/span><\/a>, you\u2019ll have protection in breadth and depth. <\/span>You\u2019ll find features like these across our McAfee+ plans<\/span><\/a>, which keep your privacy and identity more secure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See for yourself. Take a quick tour of McAfee\u2019s Online Account Cleanup.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n