How To Get Your Personal Information Off of Google Search

Does Google Really Let You Remove Data From Search Results?

If you have any form of online presence, your personal information can almost certainly be found through a simple Google search. But while having some personal information on Google is to be expected, sensitive data such as phone numbers, addresses, and work history can put you at risk of being harassed, hacked, or even having your identity stolen. 

When it comes to removing your personal information from Google there are four options available: 

1. Request that Google remove your information from search results
2. Track and remove data by using Google’s “Results About You” tool
3. Reach out to individual websites that are hosting your information
4. Use a data cleanup service like Aura or DeleteMe

Unfortunately, no single option will completely clean up your digital footprint on Google. 

Even Google’s own tools are limited to only removing data from search engine results — not the sites on which they’re actually listed. However, by going through each step, you can minimize your online presence and protect your privacy. 

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Option 1: Remove Results Directly From Google Search Results

Googling your own name may uncover more personal information than you expect. While the top results will most likely be information you’ve made public — such as your social media profiles or personal website — you’ll probably also come across data broker or “people lookup” sites advertising your phone number, home address, and email address. 

These websites scrape public databases and sell personal information to marketers — and anyone else. While the process for removing your data from these sites can be arduous, you can request that Google remove the information from its search results so that it’s less easily found. 

Here’s what to do: 

• Google your own name and look for sensitive information — such as your contact details. 
• Click on the three dots to the right of the result and select Remove result. 
• Provide a reason for removing the information and then click on continue. For example, your reason could be that the site contains personal contact information or other sensitive data — such as bank account or credit card numbers, Social Security numbers (SSNs), login credentials, etc.

• If you’re logged in to your Google account, confirm the removal request with your Gmail address, or switch to a different account.
• Finally, share the personal details that you saw in the result — your name, physical address, email, or phone number — and click on Send.

Alternatively, you can request removal of data from multiple sites at once by using Google’s Content Removal Form. You’ll be asked to submit all of the URLs through which your data was found, along with screenshots of the sites. You can submit up to 1,000 URLs at once.Though this data removal method is the simplest, it’s the least effective. Finding these results and submitting removal requests takes time — and your data isn’t actually removed from a website; it’s just removed from search results. Note that Google will not remove:

• Professional information (only personal contact information will be removed)
• Content from an educational or government institution
• Personal content from social media pages or blogs that you control

Option 2: Use Google’s “Results About You” Tool

If you have a Google account, the “Results About You” feature can scan search results for your contact information and help you remove your data in bulk from those results. 

The process is slightly different whether you’re using the Google app or an account such as Gmail:

In the Google app:

1. Tap on your Google Account avatar
2. Tap on Results about you

In your Google account:

1. Click on your Google Account avatar
2. Select Manage your Google Account
3. Click on Data & privacy
4. In History settings, select My Activity, and then Other activity
5. Scroll down to Results about you
6. Click on Manage results about you

At this point, you’ll be able to see the webpages on which your information was found, the date it was discovered, and what personal information has been exposed.

Check the box next to each result that you want to remove (or select All results), and then click on Request to remove. Return to this page periodically to check on the status of your removal requests. 

If you add your contact information to your account settings, you can set up notifications whenever Google finds your contact information in search results. But that still won’t actually remove the information from the internet.

Option 3: Ask Website Owners To Remove Data

Google’s native tools are helpful, but they can’t actually delete your information from websites. To remove your personal information, you’ll need to contact the website owners directly. 

It’s important to know that this can be a lengthy and often fruitless process. Website owners typically won’t respond to these requests — but it’s still worth a shot if you want to remove your information. 

According to representatives from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) [*]:

"The average takedown time frame is within 10 business days. However, there are some instances where takedown can take up to 8 weeks or longer."

Here are a few ways to make contact with site owners: 

• Look for contact details on the website’s Contact or About Us pages. Check in the website footer for a phone number, email address, or contact form that goes to the webmaster or relevant person.
• Search the WHOIS database. Sites like whois.com, GoDaddy, and ICANN Lookup contain webmaster and web hosting information. If the webmaster’s contact is not listed, contact the hosting company instead.
• Use an email lookup tool. If you know the webmaster’s name, you can use Hunter.io or Voila Norbert to search for email addresses for free. You will likely have to create an account.
• Write to them on social media. Sometimes businesses list their webmaster or technical contact on their LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter pages. If not, you can send them a message explaining what data you want taken down.

Once you’ve got the email address, draft a removal request that includes the URL of the page, the exact information you want removed or edited, as well as your own name. 

Stress that the presence of your information on their site poses a privacy concern, and ask if they need any additional details to process your request. If the site owner has removed your personal information but it still shows up in search results, you can request a refresh of outdated content in Google search. 

📚 Related: How To Remove Your Personal Information From the Internet →

Option 4: Use a Data Broker Removal Service

Data brokers and people search sites take advantage of privacy loopholes to scrape your data from “public sources” and then repackage and sell it to marketers or even scammers. 

Even after you’ve removed as much information as possible from Google’s search results pages, data brokers may continue to sell your information. 

To purge your information from data broker lists, you can either remove information yourself by manually opting out of each website, or use an automated data broker opt-out service. 

Manually opt out of data broker websites

Each data broker has its own unique process for requesting the removal of your personal information, which can be time consuming and also inefficient. Search any data broker service on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and you’ll likely see hundreds of complaints about ignored removal requests or personal data being re-added shortly after being removed. 

Even worse, most services require some form of verification to remove your data — which entails giving them even more of your personal information. 

If you decide to manually opt out, start with the larger services first, including:

• Truthfinder
• BeenVerified
• Radaris
• Acxiom
• Epsilon
• Datalogix

For more guides, Privacy Rights collects contact and opt-out information for hundreds of data brokers in the United States.

Use an automated data broker removal service

Rather than spend hours or days sending in and tracking takedown requests, data broker removal services do the work for you. These tools regularly scan databases and send removal requests on your behalf — which means that even if data brokers re-add your information, it will be taken down shortly. 

For example, Aura’ Privacy Plans include automatic data broker opt-outs for more than 30 major data brokers, along with identity and credit monitoring, 24/7 support, digital security tools, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance — with plans starting at just $3/month.

📚 Related: 7 DeleteMe Alternatives That Will Help Protect Your Privacy Online →

How Long Does It Take For Google To Remove Your Personal Data?

Some people report seeing their information removed within 24 hours. Others say it takes a few weeks [*] or even months [*].

When we at Aura sent data removal requests using the Results About You tool, it took three days to get our request approved and removed from search results. However, one of our requests was denied because it contained professional information — not personal contact details.

If your request is denied the first time, you can appeal. However, it may take a while for Google to review the appeal, make a decision, and remove your data from search results.

Per Google’s privacy policy, complete deletion of data from its servers takes roughly two months, including a month-long recovery period in case data is removed by mistake.

The Bottom Line: Google Can Put Your Privacy at Risk

Having your personal information or contact details available via Google search (and other websites) can be dangerous, and the tools to limit that damage don’t always work as promised.

To further protect your privacy online, you should:

• Use a virtual private network (VPN) when browsing. This tool encrypts your location and browser history, preventing internet service providers (ISPs), websites, and hackers from tracking you and stealing sensitive information. 
• Limit what you share online. Think twice before giving any online service your phone number or home address. At a minimum, make sure that you’ve selected “do not sell my information” when signing up. 
• Review your social media privacy settings. Set your profile to “private,” limit what you share in your posts, and turn off location sharing. It’s also a good idea to cull your friends list from time to time to ensure that you’re only sharing with people you know and trust.
• Monitor your personally identifiable information (PII). Digital security providers like Aura scan public records, Dark Web marketplaces, data breaches, and more for your sensitive data — and warn you if it’s been leaked. This can help you understand where your data and devices might be at risk so that you can take the proper steps to stay safe. 

Get Aura’s Privacy Protection — plans start at as little as $3/month.