Google now lets you delete your personal info from search results
Image: Google
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Google has enhanced its ‘Results About You’ privacy tool to help users monitor and remove personal information like government ID numbers from search results, according to PCWorld.
- The update includes a streamlined process for removing explicit images through a three-dot menu option and allows bulk removal requests.
- These privacy improvements are rolling out in the US first as part of Google’s Safer Internet Day initiatives, giving users better control over their digital footprint.
In celebration of Safer Internet Day, Google rolled out an update to its “Results About You” feature and launched a new, simpler tool for removing unwanted explicit images from search results.
With Results About You, you can tell Google to keep track of search results where your personal information appears, and then ask Google to remove those search results.
The feature has previously been able to track search results with your home address, email address, and phone number, but now the search engine will also be able to warn you about search results that include your government documents, such as passports or driver’s licenses.
The update to Results About You will first be rolled out in the United States over the coming days, but Google is working on adapting the feature for other regions as well.
As for the new tool for removing unwanted explicit images, all you need to do is click on the three dots in the upper-right corner of an image search result, then select Remove result, then select It shows a sexual image of me. You can even remove multiple images at once instead of having to make a new, separate request for each image.
You should be able to easily track requests to remove images from search results in the Results About You hub. Google also states that they now have new optional safeguards that can filter out additional adult content in similar searches in advance.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish.
Author: Kristian Kask, Contributor, PCWorld
Kristian is passionate about gadgets and gaming and mainly writes news for our sister sites, M3 and PC for Alla. He also tests products, mainly game accessories, and translates articles from the Foundry network.
