[a13o]

Use guest checkout whenever possible.

If you do need to sign up, give fake info, or highly redacted info. If I decide later they actually need it, I can update it in the account settings. Nobody's ever cancelled my account because I said I was born Jan 1 over 120 years ago.

Do digital purchases via some middleman, like a PayPal account backed by a credit card, Apple Pay, etc. Lots of sites have PayPal checkout flows and it saves you having to share your CC directly.

Come up with site-specific usernames and store them in your password manager. That way you don't build a stable cross-site identity unless you're doing it intentionally for branding.

[hnbear]

Recently on calls asking to verify my birthday I've stopped saying the full 4-digit year. Being born in the 80's it's pretty clear I'm neither 140 years old, nor unborn.

I've been forced to actually say the "19" part for compliance/safety/security reasons multiple times.

They've not cancelled by account, but it's weird the things companies insist on hearing.

[tilsammans]

It's solid advice for sure, but I've been doing the opposite in recent years. Sign up for everything, confirm accounts, setup MFA if possible, and consistently use the account. Then, when I want to terminate the relationship, request permanent account deletion. (I'm in EU, so GDPR applies)

This way I can be reasonably sure they've tied all my activity to my singular account. Instead of my shipping address, IP etc being all over the place. When they don't have a delete account button, I request it via email. Seems to work fine. Obviously can't be sure it's actually gone, but that's okay. Ever since Adobe leaked my PII, it's out there anyway.