Google Tool Helps Users Remove Personal Data for Safety
▼ Summary
– Google expanded its “Results about you” tool to allow users to remove sensitive personal data like passport and Social Security numbers from search results.
– The update comes as the FTC reported consumers lost $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, with identity theft enabling severe harms beyond financial loss.
– The tool’s new features are rolling out over weeks, starting with US English users, and can be accessed via a specific Google website.
– A new, faster process allows users to request removal of non-consensual explicit images directly from search results.
– These removal features are currently for users over 18, with a separate form required for individuals under 18.
In a significant move to combat online fraud and protect user privacy, Google has enhanced its personal data removal tool. The company recently updated its “Results about you” feature, broadening its scope to help users eliminate highly sensitive identifiers from search engine results. This expansion now includes critical documents like passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security numbers, building upon the tool’s original ability to remove phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses.
This development arrives at a critical moment. Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee this week highlighted the staggering scale of financial fraud. According to FTC Associate Director Lois Greisman, consumers filed over three million fraud reports in 2025, with total losses reaching an alarming $15.9 billion. The consequences of identity theft extend far beyond immediate financial loss. Criminals can use stolen identities to secure employment, obtain medical services, claim government benefits, accumulate massive debts, or even implicate victims in criminal investigations.
The updated tool is being released gradually, with availability for US English users coming first over the next several weeks. Accessing the feature is straightforward. Users can navigate to myactivity.google.com/results-about-you via the Google app or a web browser, where a step-by-step guide walks them through the process. The system will prompt for a reason before proceeding with a removal request.
Alongside this, Google has streamlined the process for removing non-consensual explicit images. Acknowledging that deleting existing content is only a partial fix, the company’s blog post explained that the new procedure includes an opt-in for proactive safeguards. These protections are designed to filter out similar explicit results from future searches. To use it, users over 18 can click the three-dot menu on an image, choose “remove result,” and select the reason “It shows a sexual image of me.”
For individuals seeking to remove personal information for someone under 18, the process requires submitting a detailed removal request form. Once any removal form is submitted, Google’s review scans begin immediately, offering a more robust defense against the severe repercussions of personal data exposure online.
(Source: New York Post)
