According to a credible source, Google is developing a tool that makes it easy to erase search results that include your address, phone number, and other personally identifying information. It debuted the “results about you” feature in May at I/O 2022, describing it as a method to “help you easily control whether your personally-identifiable information can be found in Search results.”
If you find a result that includes your phone number, home address, or email address, you may choose it by clicking the three-dot menu in the upper right corner. This brings up the standard “About this result” panel, but it now includes a new “Remove result” button at the bottom of the screen. According to a dialog, if the result contains one of those three items, “we can review your request more quickly.”
The request may then be tracked under a new menu item in the Google app called “Results about you,” which can be accessed by touching your user profile at the top right. You may then track the status of requests using the criteria “All requests,” “In progress” and “Approved.”
The same website also allows you to create a new request, complete with a “Why would you like to remove this result” step. There are several options available. “It shows my personal contact info,” “It shows my contact into with an intent to harm me,” “It shows other personal info,” “It contains illegal info” and “It’s outdated.”
However, Google has already said that not all requests would be granted:
“It’s important to note that when we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we’re not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles. And of course, removing contact information from Google Search doesn’t remove it from the web, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you’re comfortable doing so.”
According to the source, the new feature is only available to a small number of users in the United States and Europe, yet to see it in France, despite being in the Google app beta. Meanwhile, you can delete additional personally identifiable information or doxxing content from Google Search by submitting a removal request – further information is available here.
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