Users can request Google to extract contact information from search results

Google has put a form online that allows users to request that links containing private information, such as email address and physical address, be removed from search results. This should, among other things, make intimidation of internet users and fraud more difficult.

Those requests could already be made for credit card numbers, for example, but users can now also submit the requests if their contact details are unintentionally publicly available online, reports Google. This includes e-mail addresses, physical addresses and login details.

There are limitations to the requests, because Google will not remove the data from news sites or government websites. In addition, users have to request the search engine by URL to remove it from the search results. It is not possible to remove all pages that mention the address from the search results on the basis of, for example, an e-mail address. Google has the conditions for removal from search results put online. The results, of course, only disappear from the Google search engine and not from other search engines or the web as a whole.

Google is taking the step, because the internet is always evolving. “With information surfacing in unexpected places and being used in new ways, we need to change our policies and safeguards with it,” the search giant said.

Google search results removal form