The ability to remove personal information from Google search was first introduced in May 2022 but is now easier to use and more widely available.
Kinds of information you can remove from Google
While Google previously allowed users to remove personally identifiable information that could lead to issues like doxxing or financial fraud, the company updated its policy in April 2022 to include contact information and information that could put users at risk for identity theft. To get Google to take action under the new rules, the info that appears in Search needs to fit into one of the following categories:
- Contact information
- Government-issued ID numbers like a U.S. Social Security Number
- Bank account or credit card numbers
- Images of a handwritten signature or ID documents
- Private medical records
Request the removal of personally identifiable information that appears in Google Search
For many years, people have been able to request the removal of certain sensitive, personally identifiable information from Search — for example, in cases of doxxing, or information like bank account or credit card numbers that could be used for financial fraud.
Under this new policy expansion, people can now request removals of additional types of information when they find it in Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address. The policy also allows for the removal of additional information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials, when it appears in Search results. To learn more about how you can make use of this expanded policy, visit our help page
Some questions you’ll want to answer are:
- What tools and services are you not ready to give up?
- What kind of information are you uncomfortable leaving online?
- What are the benefits of the tools and services you want to keep using vs the risks of leaving the information they require online?
If you don’t want to wipe your data from the internet completely, you will have to strike a delicate balance between the tools and services you want to keep using, the amount of information you want to be erased, and the risks you are willing to take.
TIP: Always remove PII (Personally Identifiable Information) that has the potential to create significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, harmful direct contact, or other specific dangers.
Always remove the following if you come across it:
- Confidential government identification (ID) numbers like US Social Security Number
- Bank account numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Images of handwritten signatures
- Images of ID docs
- Highly personal, restricted, and official records, like medical records
- Personal contact info (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses)
- Confidential login credentials
