Cleanly Exit Online Services, Retail Sites, and Pesky Windows Apps

by Sam Dean - Mar. 11, 2009Comments (0)

Do you ever run into the pesky problem of wanting out of an online service that you've signed up with? Do you ever run into software applications that seem impossible to completely uninstall no matter what you do? If you're like many people in the open source community, you're constantly trying new applications and probably signing up with increasing numbers of hosted application services, social networks, and general online services. When you want out, when you want your freedom, here are some good ways to get there.

PCMag.com is out with a great roundup of specific instructions on cleanly leaving 23 online services: "How to Delete Accounts from Any Website."┬а Whether you object to the new terms of service on a particular site, or just don't use the site that you signed up with, there are good instructions here for getting out. You can find out how to leave Facebook, MySpace and most other popular social networks, as well as how to exit retail sites that you've signed up with.

I've tried several of the open source uninstaller applications, but most of them aren't great. Uninstaller applications are particularly important for people on the Windows platform, because Windows applications, and Windows' quirky Registry have ways of leaving components of applications behind when you don't want them. For an excellent piece of Windows freeware that will completely uninstall just about any application, try Revo Uninstaller. (There's a portable version of it too.) I reviewed it here.

If you try a lot of applications all the time, and are signing up with more and more online services, these tools can help you on the way out.