GOOGLE PLUS Google tries to entangle you in multiple, distinct services like Google Plus, Gmail and YouTube — all connected. And it can track your activity across all of them and show you ads.

But the company doesn’t hassle you before letting you leave. To delete your Google Plus social network profile, log in and hit the gear icon, which is directly to the right of the View Profile As tab. From there, choose Settings and scroll all the way down the page, where you should see a Disable Google+ tab that gives you the option to delete just Google Plus content or your entire Google profile.

It’s important to note what does and does not get deleted if you drop Google Plus alone. Circles, Plus 1’s, posts, comments and third-party app activity will all be gone. Photos won’t be deleted; you have to remove them through Picasa Web Albums if you want them gone. Your chat buddies and communities are also kept intact.

Alternatively, you can hide elements of your profile. Go to the About tab on your profile, and hit the blue Edit link to change what others can see.

AMAZON Amazon has created one of the most difficult opt-out procedures of the major sites. Under the Your Account section are countless blue links, continuing as you scroll down. There is no sign of a “close account” option anywhere.

Turns out, there isn’t one.

To close shop, you have to go to www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/account-assistance.html. Then you have to select Something Else in Section 1, and Account Settings then Close My Account from the drop-down choices in Section 2. In Section 3, you’ll see e-mail, phone and chat contact options. Before going through all that rigmarole, it’s best to first remove your credit card information to guard your privacy. Go to the Your Account Page, click Manage Payment Options located under Payment Methods, and delete the information on file.