Are you appearing on Google? Here’s how to remove personal information from web results

Don’t want strangers to find your personal info from Google? Here’s how you can use the “Remove this result” feature to protect your privacy.

Google has a new feature that lets you request to take down results that show your personal info. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/The Indian Express)

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Google is the most popular search engine in the world, so if by any chance it starts showing your personal information in its results, it can be a problem – especially if you prefer to maintain a low footprint on the internet.

Therefore, if you don’t want strangers to find your phone number, email address, or home address when they search your name on Google, you can use a new feature to remove them. This feature is currently available only in select countries but the search engine does plan to roll it out to more regions.

How to remove your information from Google search results

The feature, called “Remove this result”, is still in beta testing, but it allows you to request Google to take down certain web pages that contain your personal contact information from its search results. However, this does not mean that the information is deleted from the internet or the original website. It will still be there – just harder for people to access.

To use this feature, you need to follow these steps:

– Search your name on Google.
– Find the web page that has the information you want to remove and click on the three vertical dots next to it.
– Click on “Remove result” in the top right corner.
– You will see five options, but for phone number, email address, and home address, choose the one that says “It shows my personal contact info.” For other requests, click on the arrow next to the other options.
– Click on the arrow on the right and then click on “Continue.”
– Enter your name and the matching contact information that you want to remove. For example, if you want to remove your personal phone number, make sure you enter it. Then click on “Continue” again and then “Send.”
– If you want to review your requests, click on the “Go to removal requests” button.

In most cases, it takes 3-4 weeks for Google to remove a search result, although the process is sped up significantly in some conditions.

How to check the status of your request

You can also check the status of your request by going to your Google activity page. Here’s how:

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– Go to the “Data & privacy” section of your Google account and scroll down to “My activity.”
– Click on the three dots in the search bar and select “Other activity.”
– Click on the “Manage results about you” and you will see the status of your request.

You can also use this link to submit a request for more reasons. If you want to remove other types of personal information, such bank account numbers, choose the option that says “Content contains your personal information.”

This feature can help you protect your privacy and prevent identity theft by making it harder for people to find your personal information on Google.

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Google