Google has now permitted people to appeal for the removal of their personal information from its search results. The personal information includes physical address, phone number, and email address.
Google says that the change has been made to guard its users against “unwanted direct contact and physical harm”. Before this policy expansion, people could only request for some specific information to be removed from the search result like credit card numbers or bank accounts.
Google’s global policy lead, Michelle Chang said that the new policy is announced after people gave their feedback and asked Google to let them remove sensitive data from search in a few cases. As per the policy, Google will evaluate the content on the web page first to guarantee that the step does not limit the availability of other information that is indispensable. For example- news articles.
How will Google remove the personal information of its users?
Once the user will submit the request for the removal of information, he will get receive an automated email confirmation. The request will then be reviewed by Google and the user may be asked for additional information in case the company doesn’t find enough information.
Further, if the URLs you submit are within the scope of Google’s policy, an action would be taken. In case your request gets denied, Google will give you a brief explanation for doing so.
However, even if Google removes personal information from search results, the information may still appear on the web. This means the information can still be found on the page that hosts it, be it through various search engines or social media.
Google also lets people under 18 and their parents to request deletion of photos from search results
In 2021, Google came up with another policy under which people under 18 along with their parents were allowed to request to delete their photos from search results. The company believed that the policy will give young people control over their digital footprint.
