Removing private data from Google results just got a lot easier

Through the Results About You functionality in the Google app, users can now remove personal information, such as a home address, phone number, or email address. The feature is already available to first users in Europe and the US and will be rolled out in the near future. 9to5Google writes.

For years, Google has allowed users to submit requests to remove personal information, such as passport photos, bank account numbers and Social Security numbers, via web forms, for example to prevent identity theft and theft. Starting this spring, users can also ask Google to remove web pages from search results that might lead to their home or account. This should prevent doxing: sharing online, for example, users’ addresses in order to intimidate or bully them.

“Delete result”

Until now, users had to fill out a form with the web address they wanted to remove. The new process within the Google app makes the submission process much easier. In the search result that leads to the page they want to remove, users can click on the three-dotted button that leads to the “About this result” section. There you will find the option “Delete result”, with which you can send a request for removal.

Links with “Value News” remain

The Google app also has a screen called Results About You, which shows the status of removal requests. Users can also specifically choose doxing as the reason for removal in their application. Google describes it this way: “It shows my contact information with intent to harm me.” There are also options for “illegal information” and “outdated information”.

For example, Google also removes things like “explicit or intimate personal photos shared without consent”, “involuntary fake pornography” and “links to sites that are subject to extortion removal procedures”, write the company.

In removal requests, Google checks whether the information is “in the public interest” or “worthy of publication”. In these cases, the company can decide to leave the links.

Deletion does not mean offline

If Google removes titles from its search results, there are two ways it can be done. Either from all search results, or only for searches where the username is used.

Removal from Google results does not mean the information is offline. The address or phone number posted in a forum, for example, will remain in that forum even after the search result is deleted. However, it is difficult for many users to find information, due to the popularity of the Google search engine.