Protect Social Security Number, Address and More with Google Tool Updates
Many people are worried about having their personal information available online, but in today’s world, it’s difficult to avoid it. We offer up our name, email address, phone number, and even a street address when we place orders on ecommerce sites. Information may be published on social media. And there are listing sites that may publish our information without us knowing it.
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To remove this information from Google searches, you can open a ticket on the Google support page here. You’ll need to tell Google:
- The information you want to have removed
- Whether or not you contacted the site owner regarding removal.
In April, Google expanded the types of information it will remove from search results, including phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses, as well as log-in credentials, passwords, bank account information, and your social security number.
Unfortunately, Google has the right to deny your request.
Now, Google has a plan in place to make it easier to remove personal information from search results. The search giant announced at I/O, Google’s annual developer conference, that it is streamlining the way people can report information and have it removed.
When you’re accessing Google through the Android or Apple app, you can click on three vertical dots next to the search results on your screen. Clicking those dots brings you to the “About this Result” panel, which, since February 2021, has offered information about specific results, including the source and whether the site is secure.
In the future, you’ll be able to click those dots and general a removal request for the search results. Of course, Google will still have to approve your request.
It takes about a week for the search results to disappear if Google approves the request, AARP.org reported.
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It’s important to note that contacting Google only removes the information from Google search results, not the web page itself. That’s why it’s important to try to contact the website owner or webmaster to remove the actual content.
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