How to Remove Personal Information From Google

May 24, 2022
Clean up Your Online Presence, Google Search Results, Individual Reputation Management

Last Updated on April 1, 2024

The internet continues to make it harder and harder to maintain your privacy so how do you remove personal information from Google?

Thankfully, Google has been taking steps to address this. In 2022, the company launched their “Results about you feature”. This allows users to remove some of their personal information directly through Google. That way, you can keep your private information out of search results.

how to remove personal information from google for free

So, how do you remove your personal information from Google for free? Read on to learn everything you need to know about protecting your information.

Why Remove Your Personal Information From Google?

Websites collect data about you every time you use the internet. Sometimes, that information is incredibly sensitive and highly personal. No matter how well you think you keep your personal information hidden, it might be out there.

Google search results could display your personal information like:

financial information like credit card numbers or banking details
passwords
health information
your email address, phone numbers, or home addresses on real estate listings

How Much Personal Information Can Google Collect?

Google knows more about you than you may think. Every time you use a Google product, they collect data about how you use them. This includes browsing history, YouTube history, your location, purchases, Google searches, and more.

According to Security.org, Google collects more data about you than any of the other big tech companies.

Besides that, any information that exists about you online, people can find on Google search results. This means your privacy is always at risk, and most people know this. 92% of Americans have concerns about their online privacy, according to TrustArc.

Studies show that the majority of Americans are concerned about their online privacy.

Companies are not always straightforward about what they do with user data.

According to Surfshark, only about half of users at least somewhat understand how their private data is being used. The vast majority (81%) want to know more about what happens with their data.

Many people don’t fully understand how their personal online data is being used. Most people want to know more about how companies use their data.

If you’re reading this blog, you want to do something to protect your internet privacy. You aren’t the only one – in fact, 85% of global adults want to do more to protect their online privacy. 55% believe it’s impossible to fully protect their privacy, but there are steps you can take today.

Most people want to do more to protect their online privacy, but around half don’t believe it is possible to fully protect their privacy.

What Google Will Remove:

Google’s personal information removal tool allows you to request the following type of pages that contain:

Social security number
Bank account or credit card numbers
Images of handwritten signatures
Images of identity documents
Highly personal, restricted, and official records, like medical records
Personal contact info (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses)
Login details
Web pages that include copyrighted material
Sexually explicit images (in certain cases)
If you live in the European Union, you can request to remove results that fall under your right to be forgotten

What Google Won’t Remove:

Just because something is personal or negative, doesn’t mean Google will always remove it.

Some of your personal information might be part of a public record. Google won’t remove information that is valuable to the public, such as:

Public records
Court Cases
News articles
Results from governmental or educational institutions

How Do You Use Google’s Removal Request Tool

To remove your personal information from Google, you can use their Removal Request Tool. The removal request tool is straightforward to use and takes about 5-10 minutes.

This process only removes the information from Google search results, not from the internet itself. Your information will still exist online, it will just be a lot harder for people to find it.

To remove negative content from the internet entirely, try reaching out to the website owner.

If you can’t remove your personal information, try negative search suppression. This involves creating new content to push down negative search results.

Here is how to submit a request:

1. Go to Google’s Request a Removal page.

request personal content removal from google search

Go to Google’s Request a Removal page & select “Content contains your personal information”.

2. Fill out the first few questions about your removal of personal information, financial information, etc.

remove your information from google search results

Select what kind of personal information you want Google to remove from search results.

3. Fill out your contact information, including your email address. Google needs this to confirm your request.

4. Submit information about the content, such as content URL(s), Google SERP URL(s), search terms, screenshots, etc.

5. Click the submit button, and soon you will get an automated email confirmation.

To submit your request, confirm that the information is accurate. Then, click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

Conclusion

Google’s removal request tool allows users to easily remove their personal information from Google search results. By using this process, you can hide your address, emails, phone number, financial information, and identity documents.

However, your information is still out there. In this case, a reputation management company can help with full removal.

Want to learn more about what personal information may still be online about you? Reputation911 provides personal reputation management services for individuals, including online reputation management. Our expert team will help you remove your personally identifiable information.

About The Author

William DiAntonio

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William DiAntonio is the Founder & CEO of Reputation911, a reputation management firm he founded in 2010 that has earned the trust of its clients for over a decade by helping individuals, businesses and brands control their online search results.