How to remove your personal information from Google search results

Last year Google It provides ways for you to submit removal requests for search results that contain personal information. Prior to this change, people had to meet a very high bar to achieve results in cleaning sensitive data. Finding personal details like your home address or phone number in a Google search can be scary, but you can take steps to protect your privacy.

In addition to removing personal information, Google is also considering requests to remove images of minors, as well as deep pornography and other explicit content. Although cleaning results from Google search does not remove websites from the Internet, it changes the biggest traffic drivers.

But there is no guarantee that unwanted search results will be completely eliminated. As a result of your request, the site may be removed from all searches on Google, only searches that include your name, or none of the above. For more information about digitally disappearing and services like DeleteMe, see WIRED’s Delete Yourself from the Internet.

At the time of the announcement, Michelle Chang, Google’s head of global search policy, wrote: “Open access to information is a key goal of search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep them sensitive and private.” Personal data” The new procedures can only protect against malicious doxx as well as indirect threats of data leaks.

To start the removal process, visit the title’s support page, scroll halfway down, and click the blue Start a removal request Button. You will initially be asked if you have contacted the website owners. It is not necessary to do this, so you can just tap No, I’d rather not.. When Google asks what you want removed, select: Personal information such as ID numbers and personal documents.

You can then specify what personal information is displayed in Google Search, such as your contact details or driver’s license. These steps are only to remove results from live websites; There is a separate form for filling out cached pages. Check the box indicating that the content is live. The next question asks if the request pertains to doxxing, which Google defines as “contact information shared with malicious, threatening, or harassing intent.”