People with less-than-savory motives will, sadly, always be seeking for methods to compromise you by tracing out your most sensitive information on the internet, which is in a perpetual state of change. However, Google is finally making stronger efforts to secure internet users' data from being misused.
Personal information, including email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses, can now be removed from Google Search results if the user requests it. Google has formally declared that it's increasing its personal information removal procedures.
"Better late than never," as the saying goes, is certainly the case when it comes to Google implementing these basic protections, which should help protect the sensitive information of people who need it most, such as those who work online in a professional capacity and those who are at risk of being doxxed and/or stalked.
There are a lot of ways you can go about requesting that Google remove your personal information such as your email address or bank account information.
Also read
Google Docs now warns users about potentially dangerous files and links.
How to Fix Google Play Store Not Allowing Downloads
What kinds of information about myself am I able to get rid of?
Google's Help Center has a page that explains what the business considers to be private and confidential data. The information you find about yourself in Google Search results must fall into one of the following categories in order for your request to be considered:
- Personal identifiers issued by governments around the world, such as the Social Security number in the United States, the Argentine tax identification number, the Brazilian personal identification number, the Korean resident registration number, the Chinese personal identification number, and so on.
- The account numbers of several financial institutions
- Numbers from a credit card
- Signatures in cursive written by hand
- A collection of images of one's identification documents.
- Medical records, for example, are highly confidential, limited, and official documents.
- Details of how to reach you (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses)
- Login information that must remain private
Search results may be removed if certain conditions are met, as laid out by Google. On social media or in forums or email chains, doxxing is the act of someone else sharing your personal information with the public.
The following must be included in the search results in order to seek the removal of doxxing content:
Personal details such as a phone number or email address
Threats to injure or harass you in any way, whether explicitly or implicitly.
How do I request that Google remove my personal information from its search results?
Fill out this form on the Google Help Center portal to request the removal of your personal information from Google Search results. You can also use this form by clicking on the Help Center link provided above.
Filling out the application is as straightforward as the graphic above shows. Your inquiry should be represented by one or more of the following choices. Additionally, you'll have to state whether or not the personal data is being used for doxxing purposes and whether or not the content is currently available.
Name, country of residence and an email address are required fields under 'Personal information,' where Google will contact you regarding your removal request if necessary.
Use this form to request the deletion of your personal information from Google.
.
Under 'Removal Request,' be sure to include not just your personal information but also the URLs of the Google Search results that display it. Please consider including screenshots of the content you're requesting so that Google can more easily see what you're asking for.
What’s the next step?
You will receive an automated email from Google after submitting your request for approval, simply saying that your request has been received. The information you provided in the removal request form will be used by Google to investigate your request.
Google may contact you again through email to ask for additional information to assist your request move forward. When critical information is missing, such as URLs, from the form, this will only occur.
You'll receive a message from Google informing you of the progress it's made on your request if there are no more problems. It is possible that the URLs you entered in the form will be removed from search results by Google if they fall within its removal policy.
Despite the fact that Google has the ability to remove sensitive personal information from search results, in most situations, it will not remove data from the websites themselves. The website's host or help center may be your best bet in this situation.