Best Tools to Find and Delete Old Online Accounts (2026 Comparison)

You have way more online accounts than you think.

Most people estimate 15-20. Reality? 50-100+ accounts scattered across the internet, many forgotten, some breached, all holding your personal data.

I tested 7 different tools and methods to find and delete these accounts.

Here's what actually works.

Quick Comparison Table

1. GhostSweep - Best Overall for DIY

Price: Free (10 accounts) | Pro $9.99/month
What it does: Scans your email, finds all accounts, gives deletion guides

Pros:

✅ Automated email scanning
✅ Finds accounts you forgot about
✅ Step-by-step deletion guides for 500+ services
✅ Tracks what you've deleted
✅ Weekly monitoring for new accounts
✅ Breach alerts
✅ You control everything

Cons:

❌ Gmail only (for now)
❌ You have to do the deletions yourself
❌ Newer tool (less brand recognition)

How it works:

1. Connect Gmail (OAuth, read-only)
2. Scans for "welcome", "confirm", "receipt" emails
3. Shows complete account list
4. Click account → get deletion guide
5. Follow steps to delete
6. Mark as deleted

Who it's for:

• People who want control
• Tech-comfortable users
• Budget-conscious ($10/mo vs $129/year)
• Gmail users

Test results:

• Found 257 accounts in my email
• Took 2 minutes to scan
• Deletion guides available for 95% of accounts
• $10/month for unlimited

Verdict: Best bang for buck if you're willing to do deletions yourself.

Try GhostSweep Free

2. DeleteMe - Best for Hands-Off Service

Price: $129/year (individual) | $229/year (family)
What it does: Professionals delete your accounts for you

Pros:

✅ Done for you (zero effort)
✅ Removes you from data brokers
✅ Quarterly scans and removals
✅ Detailed reports
✅ Established company (owned by Abine)

Cons:

❌ Expensive ($129/year)
❌ Less control (they do it for you)
❌ Focuses on data brokers, not all accounts
❌ Slower (quarterly vs weekly)

How it works:

1. Sign up and pay
2. Give them your info
3. They scan for your data
4. They submit removal requests
5. Send you quarterly reports

Who it's for:

• Non-technical users
• People who value time over money
• Those concerned about data brokers specifically
• Want someone else to handle it

Test results:

• Removed from 20+ data broker sites
• Took 4-6 weeks for first round
• $129/year ongoing

Verdict: Great if you have budget and want zero effort.

3. JustDeleteMe - Best Free Resource

Price: Free
What it does: Directory of deletion links for popular services

Pros:

✅ Completely free
✅ Covers 1,000+ popular sites
✅ Color-coded difficulty ratings
✅ Direct links to deletion pages
✅ Community-maintained

Cons:

❌ Doesn't find your accounts
❌ You manually search for each service
❌ No automation
❌ Deletion links sometimes outdated

How it works:

1. Go to justdeleteme.com
2. Search for service name
3. Click link to deletion page
4. Follow their instructions
5. Repeat for each account

Who it's for:

• People who already know what accounts they have
• Budget: $0
• Comfortable with manual process
• Just need deletion links

Test results:

• Quick reference for known accounts
• Found 60% of services I needed
• Free but manual

Verdict: Great supplement, not a complete solution.

4. Deseat.me - Best for Google Users

Price: Free
What it does: Shows apps/services connected to your Google account

Pros:

✅ Free
✅ Instant results
✅ Shows Google-connected apps
✅ One-click disconnection
✅ Privacy-focused

Cons:

❌ Only finds Google OAuth apps
❌ Misses email-based signups
❌ Misses non-Google accounts
❌ No deletion guides
❌ One-time scan (no monitoring)

How it works:

1. Connect Google account
2. See apps with access
3. Revoke access
4. Done

Who it's for:

• Checking Google account permissions
• Quick security audit
• Revoking app access
• Google power users

Test results:

• Found 42 connected apps
• Took 30 seconds
• Missed 215 accounts not connected via OAuth

Verdict: Good for Google cleanup, not comprehensive.

5. AccountKiller - Free Deletion Directory

Price: Free
What it does: Database of account deletion instructions

Pros:

✅ Free
✅ Difficulty ratings (easy/medium/hard/impossible)
✅ Step-by-step guides
✅ Shows which services don't allow deletion

Cons:

❌ Doesn't find accounts
❌ Smaller database than JustDeleteMe
❌ No automation
❌ Some outdated info

How it works:

Similar to JustDeleteMe - manual lookup per service.

Who it's for:

Same as JustDeleteMe but prefer their interface/database.

Verdict: Solid free resource, similar to JustDeleteMe.

6. Manual Gmail Search - The Free DIY Method

Price: Free
What it does: You manually search your email

Pros:

✅ Completely free
✅ Works with any email
✅ No third-party access
✅ You control everything

Cons:

❌ Extremely time-consuming (2-4 hours)
❌ Easy to miss accounts
❌ No deletion guides
❌ No automation
❌ Manual spreadsheet tracking

How it works:

1. Search Gmail for: "welcome to", "verify your email", "confirm account"
2. Go through each result
3. Make spreadsheet of accounts
4. Google how to delete each one
5. Delete manually
6. Track progress

Who it's for:

• $0 budget
• Lots of time
• Very privacy-conscious (no third parties)
• Enjoy manual work

Test results:

• Found ~200 accounts (missed some)
• Took 3 hours just to make the list
• Another 8 hours to delete them all

Verdict: Works but painful. Your time is worth $10/month.

7. Incogni - Best for Data Broker Removal

Price: $12.99/month | $76.49/year
What it does: Removes your data from data broker sites

Pros:

✅ Automated data broker removal
✅ Ongoing monitoring
✅ Targets 180+ data brokers
✅ Monthly reports

Cons:

❌ Doesn't find forgotten accounts
❌ Only data brokers (not your actual accounts)
❌ Pricey ($13/month)
❌ Overlaps with DeleteMe

How it works:

1. Sign up
2. They scan data brokers
3. Submit opt-out requests
4. Monitor and repeat monthly

Who it's for:

• Concerned about data brokers specifically
• Want automated broker removal
• Supplement to account deletion

Test results:

• Removed from 120+ broker sites
• Takes several months for full removal
• $13/month ongoing

Verdict: Good for brokers, doesn't replace account finder.

Which Tool Should You Use?

If you want DIY + automation:

→ GhostSweep ($10/mo)

• Finds all accounts
• Deletion guides
• You do the work
• Budget-friendly

If you want zero effort:

→ DeleteMe ($129/year)

• They do everything
• Focus on data brokers
• Quarterly service
• Premium price

If you have $0 budget:

→ Manual Gmail Search + JustDeleteMe

• Free but time-consuming
• Use JustDeleteMe for deletion links
• Weekend project

If you only care about Google:

→ Deseat.me (free)

• Quick Google audit
• Revoke app access
• 2 minutes

If you want broker removal:

→ Incogni or DeleteMe

• Target data brokers specifically
• Ongoing monitoring
• Automated removal

If you want everything:

→ GhostSweep + Incogni

• GhostSweep for accounts
• Incogni for brokers
• Total coverage
• $23/month combined

My Personal Setup

After testing everything:

Active subscriptions:

1. GhostSweep Pro ($10/mo) - Weekly scans, finds new accounts
2. Password manager (1Password, $3/mo) - Unique passwords

One-time use:

1. Deseat.me (free) - Cleaned up Google permissions
2. Manual search - Found initial accounts

Total monthly cost: $13
Accounts deleted: 214 out of 257
Time saved: Hours per week

How I Tested These Tools

Testing criteria:

1. Accounts found: How many did it discover?
2. Accuracy: False positives vs. true accounts
3. Deletion help: Does it just list or actually help?
4. Price: Cost vs. value
5. Ease of use: Could my parents use it?
6. Automation: Set-and-forget or manual?

My test case:

• 257 known accounts (from manual search)
• Testing how many each tool found
• How easy deletion was
• Cost-benefit analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

"Are these tools safe?"

GhostSweep: Read-only Gmail access via official Google OAuth. They can't send emails or modify anything.

DeleteMe/Incogni: You give them your personal info (they need it to remove you from brokers). Reputable companies.

Deseat.me: Read-only Google OAuth, privacy-focused.

JustDeleteMe/AccountKiller: Just directories, no access to anything.

"Can't I just do this myself?"

Yes, absolutely. That's the "Manual Gmail Search" method.

It's free but takes 3-10 hours depending on how many accounts you have.

If your time is worth $0/hour, go for it.

If your time is worth >$3/hour, pay for automation.

"Which finds the most accounts?"

GhostSweep and Manual Gmail Search tie for most comprehensive (scan your entire email history).

Deseat.me only finds OAuth apps (~20% of accounts).

DeleteMe focuses on data brokers, not all your accounts.

"Which is fastest?"

Deseat.me: 30 seconds (but limited)
GhostSweep: 2 minutes (comprehensive)
Manual: 3+ hours

"Do I need to pay ongoing?"

Depends on your goal:

One-time cleanup: Use free tools + manual work

Ongoing monitoring: GhostSweep ($10/mo) or Incogni ($13/mo)

Done-for-you: DeleteMe ($129/year)

I recommend ongoing monitoring because new accounts accumulate over time.

The Bottom Line

Best overall value: GhostSweep
Best hands-off service: DeleteMe
Best free option: Manual + JustDeleteMe
Best for Google: Deseat.me
Best for data brokers: Incogni or DeleteMe

My recommendation for most people:

Start with GhostSweep's free plan:

• See your first 10 accounts
• Get a sense of the problem
• Decide if you want to upgrade

If you have 10 or fewer accounts total - congrats, you're done for free.

If you have more (you probably do), upgrade to Pro for $10/month and clean everything up over a weekend.

Don't wait until you get hacked.

Quick start:

1. Try GhostSweep free (2 min scan)
2. See your account count
3. Decide your approach
4. Clean up this weekend

Most people find 50-100 accounts they forgot about.

What will you find?