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Google app begins rolling out 'Results about you' to assist in removing personal data
22 Sep, 2022 / 06:49 am / Google

Source: http://www.mashable.com

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Mashable: Google said it would be available in the coming months earlier at I/O.

Google is making it easier to get rid of search results that show your address, phone number, and other information that could be used to find you. It announced the "results about you" feature at I/O 2022 in May to "help you quickly choose whether your personally-identifiable information may be found in Search results."

If your phone number, home address, or email address shows up in a search result, click the three dots in the upper right corner to see more options. This brings up the standard "About this result" box, but at the bottom of the screen is a new "Remove result" button. If any of these three things come up in the search, the window next to it says, "We can evaluate your request more quickly."

You can then keep track of the inquiry by pressing your profile picture in the upper right corner of the Google app and choosing "Results about you." The filters "All requests," "In progress," and "Approved" let you track requests as they are processed.

On the same page, there is another "Why would you like to delete this result?" form if you want to make a new request. Google has said before that not all requests can be fulfilled. The list of reasons includes "It shows my personal contact information with the intent to hurt me," "It shows more personal information," "It contains illegal information," and "It's out of date."

9to5Google says that the new feature is only available to a small number of users in the U.S. and Europe. I'm in the Google app beta, but I haven't seen it yet in France. In the meantime, if you follow the instructions here, you can ask Google to remove personally identifying information or doxxing content from search results.