There’s a free automated tool that removes information about you from Google search results. For some reason, most people don’t use it.
Did you know an untold number of companies are selling your name, home address, phone number and more online? Data brokers, as they’re called, hand your information to anyone who wants it dirt cheap, from telemarketers and jealous exes to identity thieves. It puts your safety at risk.
But there’s a tool that makes this information harder to find. It’s a free service run by Google called Results About You. The problem is a lot of people don’t seem to know about it.
Google constantly scrapes the internet to fuel its search engine, including sensitive details swept up from data brokers that you may want to keep secret. Through this process, the company inadvertently exposes you to all kinds of serious risks. But with one button, Results About You lets you ask Google to take your information down. It’s that easy. And the company just updated the service to make it even more useful.
After you set it up, Google emails you when it finds your name, email, phone number or address. You can review the websites it finds and with a click. You need a Google account to use the automated service, but there’s also a manual process if you find sensitive information in search results on your own, and you can use it without an account. Leaving these details exposed puts you at all kinds of risks.
Criminals buy and sell sensitive data from hacks and data breaches on a constant basis. Google can’t help you there. It’s also important to understand that Results About You doesn’t erase the information it finds on other webpages, it just removes the links from Google Search. However, that makes an enormous difference.This tool won’t give you total privacy and peace of mind, but it does create roadblocks so you’re not an easy target.
A Google spokesperson tells the BBC that data submitted to Results About You isn’t used for any other purposes. Google says it also uses rigorous security and encryption protocols.
How to get started
The tool is simple. Just visit the Results About You hub and fill out the form. You can also submit any problematic content you encounter on Google yourself.
Google will also remove results containing information about family members in some cases. However, it won’t just take anything you want off the search engine. Content on government and news sites is exempt.
According to Google, more than 10 million people have used Results About You since it launched in 2022. That’s a huge number, but it’s a tiny fraction of the reported 1.8 billion Google accounts. You’ll have a hard time finding another privacy tool that offers this much protection for so little effort. (BBC)
