This Simple Tool Will Help You See What Websites Know About You

Big tech knows a lot about us, and finding out exactly what it knows and downloading a copy of it can be a chore. JustGetMyData is a website that helps users navigate sites like Facebook and Twitter so they can download a copy of their data and see what, exactly, our favorite websites know about us.

JustGetMyData is a fork of JustDeleteMe—a website that helps users navigate the often complicated process of scrubbing themselves from sites like Instagram.. Amazon makes it easy to return a defective product through a series of menus, but if you want to delete your account you’ll have to call someone, for example. Retrieving a copy of your personal data can be a similarly complicated process, but JustGetMyData makes it a little easier. And, if you’re planning to delete these accounts, it’s a good idea to get a copy of your data first.

The sites are ordered alphabetically and color coded to signal how difficult the retrieval process will be. It includes a hyperlink to the exact place you need to go on any given site and detailed instructions on how to request a copy of your data.

Telegram, Tinder, Facebook, and Google are rated “green,” meaning it’s relatively easy to get a copy of your data. Microsoft is much harder. Of the 37 sites listed on JustGetMyData, only Wikipedia has no method of retrieving a user’s personal data. 

“Not all personal data processed by Microsoft can be accessed or controlled using the tools above,” JustGetMyData said on its site. “If you want to access or control personal data processed by Microsoft, that the above tools are not available or directly through the Microsoft products you use, you can always contact Microsoft at the address in the section How to contact us or using our web form.”

Requesting copies of your data in the European Union has gotten a little easier since it passed the General Data Protection Regulation, which includes provisions for how companies handle such requests. For the rest of us, though, there’s JustGetMyData.