(KTLA) — Google recently updated a powerful privacy feature called Results About You. The improvements make it even easier to find and remove your personal information from Google search results.
This can include information like your phone number, email and home address.
“We know people would like to have more peace of mind about how their personal contact information appears online. So, this new Results About You dashboard is designed to make the process easier,” said Danny Sullivan, Google’s Public Liaison for Search.
Here’s how it works:
Once you sign up for the free service, Google will monitor the internet for mentions of your name, address, email and phone number. It will alert you when a new page pops up with your information.
Then, in just one click, you can request to have the web page removed from Google’s search results.
Keep in mind, while Google can remove the link from its search results, it “can’t take it off the internet entirely,” explained Sullivan.
To fully delete the information, you’ll need to reach out to individual sites hosting your details and submit removal requests.
Also, there’s no guarantee that Google will approve your takedown request.
Still, this is a great way to help you regain some control over your digital footprint.
To sign up for Results About You:
- Open the Google app on your phone (iOS or Android)
- Tap your profile icon in the upper right corner
- Select “Results About You”
- Follow the steps to input the personal information you would like Google to keep an eye out for. Once it finds your info online, it will put the results into a section called “Results to review.”
You can then tap to request the removal. When new results pop up online, Google will alert you on your phone to review them.
Keep in mind, it may take a few days for changes and removal requests to take effect.
This is just one way to get rid of some of your personal information online and remember that if the data is coming from a public source — like a government database — it can easily pop up again on a different site.
You may also want to check out the DIY Opt-Out Guides at DeleteMe to request takedowns from various data brokers, people finders and background check sites.