Recently, Google updated its policy and allowed people to remove more personal data from search results. However, this is not as simple as you might think. For this, you have to submit a removal request. In this article, we’ll help you to request Google remove your personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address.
What personal information can be removed from Google search results?
The information you can request Google to remove from search results could be:
- Confidential government identification (ID) numbers like U.S. Social Security Number, Argentine Single Tax Identification Number, Brazil Cadastro de pessoas Físicas, Korea Resident Registration Number, China Resident Identity Card, etc.
- 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
How to submit a personal information removal request to Google
If what you want to remove falls into one of those categories, you can request Google to remove it. To submit a removal request, just follow the steps below:
- Head to the removal request page on the Google Search Help site.
- Check the “Remove information you see in Google Search” option.
- Tell Google whether the information you want it to remove is only in Google’s search results or also appearing on a website. (if it’s on a website as well, Google will wonder whether you have already contacted the site’s owner.)
- Select what you want Google to remove.
After, you have to fill out a form. The form requests personal information such as your full name, your country of residence, and your email address.
Note: Google will request the URLs of the pages that show the content and at least one screenshot.
What’s more important, you have to tell Google which search terms display your personal information as search results.
Once everything is successfully done, you will get a confirmation email. But this doesn’t mean Google will implement what you’ve requested immediately. Instead, a review process will begin. There are chances that Google will ask for more information. Once the review is over, Google will let you know what action it plans to take. When saying this, we mean that it might remove the URLs from all search results, remove URLs from specific queries, or simply deny your request.
