How to remove your personal information from Google search results
It’s almost hard to remove anything once it’s online. However, Google has made it simpler for anybody to ask that their personal data be removed from Google’s own search results.
A feature of European legislation that enables EU residents to request that businesses, especially internet behemoths, remove personal data that is kept about them has been widely opposed by Google. However, this hasn’t prevented Google from providing users with options to control the amount of information the business gathers, as well as facilities to allow kids and teenagers ask to have their photographs removed from Google’s image search results.
You can now ask Google to remove personally identifiable information about you (or someone you represent) from its search results, such as your phone number, email address, or home address, as well as other sensitive information that could be used to access your online accounts, such as login credentials. This is possible with Google’s new search results removal request feature. According to Google, this may benefit those who have been the victims of doxxing, in which someone’s personal information is posted online without their knowledge and often with malevolent intent.
First, take note of what Google requires from you in order to complete your request to have your search results removed. Google describes the sorts of personal data it will delete, including bank account numbers, secret government ID numbers, photographs of ID papers, and contact details like phone numbers and email addresses.
When you are prepared, go to the Google search results removal form and choose Remove information you see in Google Search, then In Google’s search results, and finally On a website. If you like, Google will provide advice at this point on how to contact the website host; if not, you may continue with the form by selecting No, I prefer not to contact the website host.
Google should now ask you which search results you wish to have deleted. The kind of personal information you wish to erase, such as your contact information, private medical records, or other government identification papers, should be selected when you click Personal data, such ID numbers and private documents. Your complete name, your country of residence, your best email address for contact, and a list of the websites that contain your personal information should all be entered into the form after this. Infringing search results’ site addresses may be copied from the address bar of your browser.
Your personal information may be used for doxxing if it is “being disseminated with malevolent, threatening, or harassing purpose,” according to Google’s last question on this form. Select Yes if this is the case.
All of the website addresses where you obtained your information must be provided. That might refer to the URL of the webpage containing your information as well as the URL of the Google search results page. To assist Google focus the request it makes to you, you may also need to capture and upload screenshots of search results. A maximum of 1,000 site URLs may be submitted at once.
When finished, review the signature section at the bottom of the form.
Keep in mind that deleting your data from Google’s search results is not a magic fix. Google’s request feature makes it more difficult for others to find your data without using Google’s search algorithm, but it does not instantly erase your personal information from the websites where it is housed.
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Additionally, submitting the search removal form does not ensure that Google will act on your behalf. Google said that it would “assess all material on the webpage to make sure we’re not restricting the access of other information that is generally helpful, for example in news stories.” Google said that it would not take down search results if your information was included in a public document, such as a court filing or a government website.
