Google has accepted requests to remove some personal information from search results for quite a while now, but now that option should be more useful to some people. Google has expanded the policy to let you ask for the removal of contact info like phone numbers, email addresses, and also physical addresses. You can also have Google remove login credentials if they pop up in queries as well.
Before this was limited to requests for special instances, like doxxing campaigns, or targets like bank and credit card details. Google will still look over requests to make sure they’re honest. For instance, a politician couldn’t just ask to have their office phone number removed.
The expansion comes after other recent efforts to slow the spread of sensitive info. As of last year, Google users under 18 could request the removal of their photos from image searches. But, this might be one of the more important developments. While this isn’t guaranteed to protect your privacy, it could thwart doxxers, harassers and stalkers. It’s an important move that should help users who want to limit the amount of data that is out there online. Maybe they will even expand it further in the future.
Source Engadget
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