You may now remove your ID from Google search results, but will it disappear from the web?
Google Search users in the United States can now find and request that search results containing government-issued IDs be removed.
This feature has been added to Google’s “results about you” tool. It’s been around for quite some time, but until now, it only worked with phone numbers, email addresses, and postal addresses.
“Over 10 million people have used the ‘results about you’ tool to control how their sensitive personal information appears online, like a phone number or home address. Today we’re expanding this tool to give you even more peace of mind. Now, you can find and request the removal of search results containing information like your driver's license, passport, or Social Security number,” Phoebe Wong, Product Manager at Google, says in a blog post.
To send a removal request for IDs, you’ll have to go to Google’s results about you hub and fill out some personal details. First, you press the “Get started” button, enter your name, address, phone number, and email address.
Next, you select the ID type you wish to remove from Google’s search results and enter the last four digits of this document. When you press “Continue,” you’ll have to check the box labeled “I confirm that the info I added here belongs to me."
Then the monitoring begins. As soon as Google stumbles upon a search result that contains your ID number, you’ll receive a notification. You only need to press the “Request to remove” button, and your removal request will be reviewed.
“Removing this information from Google Search doesn’t remove it from the web entirely, but this is an important step in helping you stay in control of your online presence and keep your private information private,” Wong states.
The ID removal request feature will be rolling out in the United States over the coming days. Google says it’s bringing the feature to additional regions, but doesn’t say which ones or when.
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