First on the list is a new dashboard for an existing feature called Results about you. Introduced in 2022, this feature lets you track any personal details that pop up in a search result so that you can ask Google to remove them. Courtesy of a new update, the Results about you dashboard will not only help you find those details but also let you request that they be removed via the same tool. The feature will also alert you if new details start appearing in public search results.
You can access the dashboard from the web by going to the Results about you site or from the Google mobile app by tapping your account photo and selecting Results about you. From there, run a Google search for your name. You may need to include your city and state to narrow down the results. If a search reveals your email address, phone number, or home address, you then ask Google to remove the data by clicking or tapping the three-dot icon and selecting Remove result. Next, choose the reason why you want the data removed. Follow the remaining steps and then submit the request to Google.
In response, the company will review your request to see if it meets policy requirements for removal, a step that may take a few days. If your request is approved, Google will remove the specific result you cited. You can also check on your requests at the dashboard, which can show you all requests, those in progress, those approved, those denied, and those undone.
Keep in mind, however, that removing items from a Google search doesn't delete the content itself. People may still be able to find it by going directly to the source website or by using a different search engine. This week Google also updated its policies that allow users to request that nonconsensual explicit images of themselves —whether captured without consent or shared without consent—be removed from Google's searches. One policy update that's interesting to note: If you consensually shared nudes online, then deleted the original photos—only to see someone else republish them—you can now request that those photos get removed from search results.
