Google allows users to remove Personal Data from Search Results such as Phone Numbers

The removal request from the Google search results includes phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses. The new policy is designed to stop criminals from accessing sensitive information of people in harmful ways.

Google’s global policy lead for search, Michelle Chang said the Internet is always emerging with information approaching unexpected regions. Advanced technologies have discovered new ways, so our policies and security need consistent improvement.

People were already able to request the company to remove specific personal accessible information from Google’s search results. However, the options were restricted to national ID numbers, credit card, and bank account numbers, medical records, and important images.

Users can remove their personal and confidential data

The recent announcement extends personal accessible details to add personal contact information. It includes phone numbers, physical addresses, and email addresses. Moreover, people can also request the search giant to pull their entire login details from the search results of Google.

The new tool could support users to protect their information from hacking, identity theft, or other online criminal activities. People can visit Google’s support page on the topic and generate a removal request. The support page will ask users for the URL containing their personally discoverable information.

You can submit over 1,000 URLs to remove

It is noteworthy that users can submit around one thousand URLs on the form. Keep in mind that the approval is up to Google and it will not essentially grant every request. Google said the company will evaluate the entire content on the web page mentioned in the removal request. It would ensure that Google isn’t cramping the availability of other useful and essential information.

The company will also analyze if the content appeared as part of the public record on the government websites. The point to be noted is that Google will not approve removals in such cases. Google’s grant can decide to remove the URL featuring the personal and sensitive information from its entire search results.

Google will delete requested content from Search Results

Google will just remove the URL for search queries that contain your name. The company said it will happen when the policy violation details on the page are attached to the public interest. It is important that Google can just delete the content from making an appearance in the search results of the company.

Meanwhile, the content will still live on the hosting provider. Users must ask the hosting provider to remove the information. Google said the company will ultimately remove it from Google search if the website owner has deleted the content. The search giant also confirmed that this is part of its regular update process.

Another Search Engine can expose your Personal Information

Moreover, you can now ask Google to delete your personal information such as your phone number from search results. This new feature consists of various elements like bank details or critical personal documents. However, it is considered extremely hard to wash out entire data from the internet.

Google also mentioned on a support page that people can request to remove their personal data from its search results. The company mentioned that the termination of these requested contents doesn’t mean the entire removal. It is possible that people can still find users’ personal information using another search engine.

You can now request removal of personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address, as well as login info, from Google Search. Learn more: https://t.co/ZTFRtWlNKz

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 27, 2022