How to Remove Personal Information From Google Search Results

What Personal Information Can You Remove?

Google allows removal of contact info like your home address, phone number, and email address, government ID numbers, confidential login details, bank or credit card details, and photos. You can also request removal of handwritten signatures or ID document images, personal records such as medical, financial, legal and court records, and defamatory or non-consensual explicit content.

Keep in mind that removing a result that shows your personal info from Google Search doesn't mean the info is gone from the internet. Whether your request is approved or denied, the info still exists on the source web page.

Before You Start: Search for Yourself

Start by searching for yourself the way a stranger would. Try your full name, your name with your city, and your name with your phone number or email. Note the exact results that reveal personal contact information so you have a clear list to work from.

Method 1: Use Google's "Results About You" Tool

In late 2022, Google introduced the "Results about you" tool for finding out what personal information shows up on Google search and asking for its removal. This is the easiest approach for most people.

How to access it: Visit directly at myactivity.google.com/results-about-you. On desktop: Go to your Google Account, then scroll to "Results about you."

Once you're in the tool, you can find out if your personal info, like your home address, phone number, or email address shows up in search results. The tool protects your privacy by scanning for results containing information like your phone number or address and helping you quickly remove them. It makes signing up easier than ever, and with proactive monitoring, it will alert you if new results are found.

Method 2: Remove Results Directly From Search

You can also request removal while searching:

1. Search your name in Google
2. Click on the three vertical dots next to the website that has the information you want removed
3. Press "Remove result" in top right
4. For phone number, email and home address, choose the "It shows my personal contact info" option
5. Type in your name and the matching contact information with what you want removed. For example, if you are trying to scrub your personal phone number, make sure that is entered
6. Press "Continue"

Method 3: Submit a Detailed Removal Request

For more sensitive information or multiple URLs, select the option that says "Content contains your personal information". You'll need to select the type of personal information you want to remove. Your options include address, phone number, and/or email address, along with others.

You'll need to provide additional information such as contact details, email address, the URL of the specific content you want to get removed, URL(s) to the Google search results page, the search terms you've used, and screenshots of the pages you are referring to.

Understanding Google's Removal Policies

Not every request gets approved. Google may not remove your personal data from its search results if the information is newsworthy – for instance, if it appears in a relevant news article – or if it's included on a government website or another official source.

When Google receives your removal request, its moderators evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that they're not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful. They also evaluate if the content appears as part of the public record on the sites of government or official sources, and in these cases, won't make removals.

How Long Does Removal Take?

The timeline varies. Google removal requests usually take a few days to a few weeks. If your request is straightforward and clearly violates policy—like personal contact information—Google may approve it in 24 to 72 hours. Once approved, it can take a few more hours for the link to fully disappear from search results.

To confirm your removal request and for status updates when your request has been reviewed, you'll get an email. You can check the status of your requests anytime from "Results about you" under "Removal requests."

Contact the Website Owner

The most effective long-term solution is removing the information at its source. To remove the info from the source, contact the website's owner.

If someone else controls the website, look for privacy or removal request links, typically under "Contact" or "About" pages. Alternatively, find a site's support email address or contact information and contact them directly. This removes the info from the web at its source, which in turn removes it from Google Search results.

What to Do If Your Request Is Denied

If the request doesn't meet the requirements for removal, Google will include a brief explanation. If your request is denied and later you have additional materials to support your case, you can re-submit your request.

Google may judge content newsworthy or in the public interest. Google weighs whether the wider page is broadly useful. Results from news, government, and similar sources are rarely delisted.

The Bottom Line

It's possible to remove some personal information from Google Search. Google can only remove certain kinds of results, and getting something removed from Search doesn't necessarily delete it from the internet itself. However, even removing some of the data can still go a long way towards improving privacy.

Start by using Google's "Results About You" tool to scan for exposed information, request removal of items that qualify, and contact websites directly when necessary. This multi-layered approach gives you the best chance of controlling what appears when someone searches for your name.