Removing Information from Google

There are plenty of reasons why you would want to have information removed from Google. Perhaps the information that appears in their search results includes some of your personally identifiable information or perhaps it is displaying outdated information.

This client guide will explain how you can submit a request to Google to have your personally identifiable information removed and how you can notify Google of outdated information.

Removing Personally Identifiable Information and Doxxing Content From Google

To start, go to this page to begin your request to have your information removed. The first question you will be asked is whether you want to remove information that can be seen in a Google search, or if you want to prevent information from appearing in a Google search altogether.

Removing Information From a Google Search

• If you select "remove information you see in a Google search," you will then be asked where the information is located. You can select either "in Google's search results and on a website" or "Only in Google's search results." 
  • If you choose "In Google's search results and on a website," you will be asked whether you contacted the website's owner. You can choose "No, how do I do that?" "No, I prefer not to, or Yes.
    • If you choose, "No, how do I do that?" you will be given directions on how to best contact a website owner and submit the request directly. If the website owner has made the request, but the information still appears in Google, you can take your request back to Google by filling out their form to remove outdated content from Google Search. 
    • If you choose "No, I prefer not to" or "Yes," you will then be asked to chose the type of information you want removed from Google. Depending on what information you want to have removed, you will need to provide your name and details about the information that is listed on the website, as well as the URLs where the information is located. If the information is illegal in nature, Google will ask you to report it, which you can do by filling out this form. In cases involving explicit imagery of children under 18, Google will direct you to the proper agency who handled those type of cases.
  • If you choose "Only in Google's search results," you will be asked to fill out the form to removed outdated content from Google Search.

Prevent Information From Showing in a Google Search

• If you choose "Prevent information from showing in Google Search," you will be asked whether you are a website owner. 
  • If you choose "Yes," you will be directed to resources Google has set up to help facilitate the removal, including robots.txt files, meta tags and through the password protection of web server files. 
  • If you choose "No," Google will offer best practices for preventing online content from appearing in their search results, including adjusting your setting to restrict what is shared from what you post online and to only post content to sites where you can control who sees your posts. 
    • To learn more, watch our webinars on hardening your Facebook and Instagram accounts, and why you should avoid oversharing on social media.

Removing Outdated Content from Google Search

As you've seen in this client guide, Google has its own separate form for removing outdated content from Google Search. Before you fill out the form, it's important to note the tool only works for pages and images that have already been modified or removed from the web. Google set up a page to answer further questions about using this tool.

Removing Text Content 

To remove outdated text content, you'll be asked to first provide the URL where the outdated information resides and hit submit. Google will check to see whether the URL is active, and if it is, will then ask you to enter in the major differences between the old and new versions of the website.

Removing Images 

To remove an image, find the image URL, which you can do by right clicking on the image thumbnail and choosing copy link address. You can then paste the URL in the field titled "Enter "Copy link address" URL from Image Search results." Additionally, you can paste the image URL and the website where the image is hosted as well.