How to Remove Yourself from Google Search Results

In an age where digital intrusion into personal lives is on the rise, there has been limited recourse for individuals. In fact, most of us have willingly shared our personal details with various websites. Whether it be popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra, we have all divulged at least our name, phone number, address, and email. While these well-established websites have robust privacy policies, there are numerous smaller and dubious websites that fail to safeguard user data. Additionally, many websites are susceptible to security breaches and data leaks, often resulting in our personal information, including bank account details, being exposed online. The situation exacerbates when this information appears in Google search results. However, Google acknowledges this problem and has simplified the process of removing such information. Read further to discover how to eliminate your presence from Google history.

Clear your Google history

Google’s “Results About You” feature was launched in September of last year, according to a report by 9to5Google. The feature is designed to simplify removing search results from Google that contain users’ personal information. Google announced this feature at its I/O event in 2022 and later dropped it to the Google app in the second half of the year.

Users could also delete their personal data earlier, but the process used to be more time-consuming and complicated. If a user finds their phone number, address, or even financial information floating around, they need to go to Google’s support page and fill out a form mentioning the URL they wanted removed from the search result. Needless to say, it would take Google considerable time to validate the form and take action.

The new Results from you tool allows users to make a removal request directly from the search page. Users can click the three dots next to the URL text to go to the About This Result page. From there, the page removal process begins by clicking on the Remove Result option.

The tool also has the option to allow users to track their removal requests. Users can go to the Google app and click on their profile picture to open the Results About You screen, where they can directly track the status of their requests. According to 9to5Google, this screen also allows users to add new removal requests.

Note that this process only de-indexes the information that appears in Google search results. People can still visit the website by entering the URL and using the information. So far, there is no all-encompassing way to completely remove yourself from Google’s search indexes or remove your information from all websites in one fell swoop.