Once you’ve ever searched your name or things related to your personal data and found sensitive information coming up, you might wonder: “Is there any way I can remove it?”  Or “Can I hire a hacker to delete it? The answer is yes but you need to navigate it very carefully. It’s important to note that not all hackers are reliable, and certain methods may blur the boundaries between legality and illegality.

Then, you might ask “aren’t tools for this out there?” the answer is yes, BUT, they’re very limited and not reliable. At this POV, hiring the professional hacker could the more feasible way to remove your data in the internet. Let’s learn how to hire a hacker or data removal further below.

Why Your Information is Hard to Remove

Regardless of the activities you engage in, connecting to the internet exposes your personal information, either with or without your consent. While you’re enjoying the internet, it collects and re-exposes your information aka digital footprint, whether it’s social media, forums, e-commerce, or even simply search engines. it’s impossible to erase on your own because it’s way larger than you think.

Yes, even deleting something from the internet doesn’t mean it’s truly gone. Even if a website removes content, search engines and archives may still store it as cached or archived data. Companies are basically data brokers that collect and sell your personal information, making it widely available(or visible). Many sites aren’t obligated to grant deletion request due to legal loopholes. When the leaked data shared to dark web, it’s almost impossible to touch them.

Ethical vs. Unethical Hacking: What You Need to Know

Yes, there are ethical and unethical ways to remove your data from the internet space, they’re different hackers too. The so-called white hat hackers use strictly legal methods to remove the data like taking advantages privacy laws or simply advocation by filing takedown request. Black hat hackers on the other hands, will illegally access and manipulate data. Then, there are ones  that operates in between by manipulating ranks in search engine or forcing sites to comply, they’re grey hat hackers.

How Hackers Can Erase Your Information from the Internet

Professional hackers use several techniques to execute data expunge attempts. Like mentioned above, some are legal, others aren’t. These are some methods hackers typically do to remove data:

Exploiting Website Vulnerabilities

Some websites have weak security, allowing hackers to gain access and delete information directly. They may manipulate database queries to remove/delete specific data/record with SQL injection. Some hackers can also exploit the loopholes in CMS to gain access, control, and then erase the requested data.

Requesting Takedown

Hackers who are highly proficient in privacy laws can pressure or even force websites to remove content through formal complaints or requests. They use established regulations like CCPA or GDPR to require data deletion and to force compliance. When it comes to removing data/content with copyrights, they may file DMCA takedown notices.

Manipulating Search Engine

Since there are still chances website wouldn’t grant data removal request, hackers may make it less visible or less findable. Using SEO techniques, they can push down the negative results.  Another way, they may submit false takedown requests to search engine. Using privacy laws(Google), they can request de-indexing for the data/content.

Poisoning The Data and Spreading Misinformation

If the data deletion requests still rejected, hackers may do data poisoning. It works by flooding the target site with false data to overwrite and/or obscure your real information. Alternatively, hackers may create fake accounts and posts to bias the search results.

Cleaning Up The Darkweb

While it’s almost impossible to remove, expert hackers are able to infiltrate the system or platform and then delete the data. Another way is to take down the dark web sites that host your info using DDoS attacks or botnets. If hackers are able to reach the admin of the dark sites, they may negotiate or bribe them to remove your data.

Where to Find a Professional Hacker

If you’ve decided to hire top ethical hackers to delete unwanted information, there are some places,  you can find them. At this point, there are either safe or riskier places so you need to be considerate before moving on. Remember, a poorly executed removal attempt could make your data more public/visible.

Cybersecurity Firms

Reputable, established cybersecurity firms provide data and content removal services that are complete safe and free of legal risks. In the market, these firms might be renowned as reputation management companies or digital forensics experts. Some law firms specialized in digital privacy may also offer this service.

Gig Platforms

Without joining any firms, ethical hackers offer data removal service on gig platforms like Fiverr, freelancer.com, upwork, etc. However, there are some risks you can get contact with the malicious ones. The catch: Pro hackers with excellent ratings and higher pricing rates are typically safe options.

Dark Web

Dark Web hosts tons marketplaces where non-white-hackers offer the services. This option is very risky and dangerous since you can be scammed(no delivery after payment) or get attacked when connected to the network and accessing one of those marketplaces.  Avoid upfront payments if you’d rather not be scammed. Another risk is the possibility of dealing with incompetent hackers that can expose your data even further.

The Cost to Remove Data, Information, and Content

How much it costs to hire a hacker for content removal varies some factors, such as how hard the removal is, what kind of data is being removed, and how secure the information is. Prices usually run from $100 to $1K for simple takedown requests, like taking down content from social media, blogs, or small websites. Usually, these cases are pretty simple and involve asking for takedowns or speaking with site managers.

It can cost anywhere from $1K to $3K for more advanced services, such as SEO suppression methods that knock down negative search results. Maintaining the results of this method requires strategic content changes and ongoing monitoring.

Prices can go over $2K and up to $10K or more for the most complicated cases, like database hacks and deep web removals. For these services, professionals with a lot of skill are needed to break into safe databases or get rid of leaked data from dark web forums.

There are a few more things that can change the cost. Urgency is important because faster moves usually cost more. Legal risks also have an effect on prices, since high-risk activities need special skills and caution. Lastly, if your info/data is on multiple sites, the hacker will have to address it from each site that will drive up the total cost for the total removal.