ORLANDO, FLA. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Google receives tens of thousands of requests to remove personal information, such as addresses and social security numbers, from web pages found on their search results every year, but only about 13% of requests get approved. Now Google is expanding its removal policy.
There were nearly 2,000 data breaches in 2021 and 83% of those breaches involved sensitive information such as social security numbers, which were then posted online.
Now Google is making it easier to remove sensitive information like that through an online form. To find the form search “request to remove personal information on Google.” The form should be the first search result.
Then fill out the form including the information you want to remove and the URL of the site. The things that can be removed include social security numbers, credit card numbers, photos of signatures, bank account information, medical records, address, contact information or any information that can be used to steal your identity.
Google can only remove the website containing the information from their search results, but it cannot remove your information from the website.
You will still need to contact the website owner to remove your information.
Google will not remove links with your information if it is part of a public record, such as a government file or a news article.
Sources: https://www.reuters.com/; https://www.theverge.co; https://www.protocol.com; https://www.usatoday.com; https://www.cnet.com
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer and Editor.
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