To remove personal information from Google Search, first find the exact result, then choose the route that fits the content: use Results about you for eligible contact information, Google’s detailed removal form for other covered sensitive information, or the source website’s own removal process to delete the original page. If a site has already changed or removed the information but Google still displays an old version, request a refresh of the outdated result.
These steps can reduce what people see in Google Search, but they are not all the same as deleting information from the web. Google can remove or limit a Search result under its policies; only the site or platform hosting the information can remove it from its own page.
Choose the route that matches the information
Start by identifying what you want changed and whether the original website still publishes it. Google’s options address different problems, so choosing the right one avoids sending a stale-result request when the page is still live, or using a contact-information workflow for content it does not cover.
| What you need to do | Use this route | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Find and request removal of eligible personal contact information, such as a home address, phone number, or email address. | Results about you | It helps you find matching Search results and submit requests for eligible results; Google reviews them and may decline a request. |
| Request review of other specified sensitive information, such as certain government ID or financial numbers, ID or signature images, highly personal records, or confidential login credentials. | Google’s detailed personal-information removal form | The form is for covered categories, and Google reviews the specific URLs you provide. |
| Remove information from the page where it originally appears. | Contact the website owner or use the platform’s own privacy or removal process. | This addresses the source page rather than only its appearance in Google Search. |
| Update a Google result after the source page has already been changed or deleted. | Google’s Refresh outdated content tool | This is for stale Search content; it is not a request to make a site remove information it still publishes. |
| Seek action based on a specific legal right. | Google’s legal request route | A policy report is not legal notice and does not replace a separate legal request. |
If a result concerns another person, do not assume you can submit on their behalf: the detailed form may be used by a representative where authorized. Google’s help pages describe eligibility and the applicable route for each type of request.
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Find your contact information in Google Search
For eligible contact details, begin with Google’s Results about you feature. It can monitor information associated with you and surface matching results so that you can review them. The feature is intended for users over 18; availability is still rolling out in some markets, so the option may not appear for every account or location.
- Open Results about you. Go to Google’s Results about you page, or access the feature in the Google app if it is available there. Follow the setup prompts.
- Enter the details you want monitored. Provide your name and personal contact information. The feature can support multiple values, including alternate names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Add the versions that could appear on a page, not just the one you use most often.
- Turn on match notifications if useful. Notifications can alert you when the feature finds a match. Google says a notification about a match may arrive within a few hours; that is not a guarantee about when a removal request will be decided.
- Review the results in “To review.” Open a match and inspect the website and the information shown. Make sure it is your information and that the result is one you want to address.
- Save the exact result URL. Keep the address of the Google result and, when you can, the page address it leads to. A screenshot can also help you keep track of what appeared. Google reviews particular URLs, so accurate addresses matter.
- Submit a request if the result is eligible. Use the removal-request action shown for the result and follow the prompts. Read the details before submitting; a match alone does not mean Google will remove it.
You can return to Results about you to check the request status. Google also sends confirmation and status updates. If you cannot use the feature—for example, because it is not available to you or the information is outside its contact-information workflow—consider whether the detailed form is the appropriate alternative.
Use the detailed form for other covered sensitive information
Google’s personal-information form covers specified categories beyond ordinary contact details. Depending on the circumstances, these can include certain government identification or financial numbers, images of signatures or identity documents, highly personal records, and confidential login credentials. The policy applies to the content and context of a particular result; simply naming a category does not guarantee removal.
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- Identify the covered category. Read the form’s categories and select the one that matches the information shown. Do not use it as a general-purpose way to remove any page you dislike.
- Collect the URLs and context. The form requires the URLs Google should review and information that helps explain the request. Google reviews only the URLs supplied, so include each relevant Search result or page address requested by the form.
- Provide supporting material when requested. If the form asks for context or evidence, give the information needed to identify the content. Preserve screenshots or other records for your own reference; submit material through the form only as requested.
- Submit and watch for a response. Google evaluates the request under the relevant policy. A submission is a request for review, not an assurance that the result will be removed.
If you are submitting for someone else, the form’s process allows a representative only where authorized. If the concern turns on a specific legal right rather than Google’s content policies, use the legal request route separately. A policy form does not itself serve as formal legal notice.
Request removal from the website that published it
Google Search is an index of pages on the web, not the host of every page it lists. Removing a result from Search can make it harder to find through Google, but it does not delete the page or remove the underlying information from the website. Google’s Search Help guidance on content removal options outside Search says, “In general, your best option is to remove content at its source.”
Contact the website owner or use the platform’s privacy, account, or content-removal process. Explain which page contains the information and what you are asking the publisher to change or remove. If the information appears on a social platform, use that platform’s own process as well as any applicable Google route. Keep a record of the page address and your communication so you can tell whether the original content has changed.
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Source removal and Search removal solve related but separate problems. The publisher controls the original page; Google handles how an eligible result appears in its Search service. Depending on the situation, you may choose to ask both the source and Google to act. Do not treat a Google request as a substitute for contacting the source when your goal is to remove the information itself.
Refresh a result after the source page changes
Use Google’s Refresh outdated content tool when the source has already deleted or updated the information but a Google result still shows the old content. Submit the page URL identified by the tool and follow its prompts. This asks Google to refresh stale Search information; it does not compel a website to change a live page.
Before making the request, check the source page itself. If the sensitive details remain there, the result is not merely outdated: first contact the publisher or platform about the original content. Once the source has changed, a refresh request is the relevant way to address a lingering old Search result.
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What to do if Google denies a request
Read the reason Google provides rather than submitting the same request again without changes. A denial can reflect the information type, the supplied URLs, the request details, or Google’s assessment of the page’s public value. Correct an incomplete URL or missing context if the form allows a new or updated request; if the result falls outside the stated policy, choose another route.
Google may preserve results it considers valuable to the public. Its help materials identify some government, educational, newspaper, and business pages as examples that may be treated differently. That does not establish that every page in those categories will remain, but it does mean you should not assume that a result containing personal contact details will automatically be removed.
- If the source page is still live: contact its owner or platform about removal or correction.
- If the source has changed but Search has not: use Refresh outdated content.
- If a different Google policy category applies: use the relevant detailed form and submit the exact URLs it asks you to provide.
- If you need action under a specific legal right: make a separate legal request; a policy report is not a legal filing.
Prepare before you submit
A little organization makes it easier to select the right route and explain the issue clearly. Keep a private list of the affected information, the pages where it appears, and the status of each request. Avoid sending a broad request that does not identify the result Google is being asked to review.
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- Record the exact addresses. Save the Search result URL and the destination page URL when available. The detailed form reviews only URLs submitted, and the contact-info flow is tied to individual results.
- Describe the information precisely. Note whether the page shows a phone number, home address, email, or another covered category, and where it appears on the page.
- Separate source status from Search status. Note whether the information is still visible on the website, has been removed, or has been changed. That determines whether to contact the source, request a Google review, or request a refresh.
- Keep a record of submissions. Save confirmations and check the status in the relevant Google workflow. Do not infer a response deadline from the fact that match notifications may arrive within a few hours.
- Use the right route for the person affected. For someone under 18, Google’s guidance points to the detailed removal form. A representative should submit for another person only where authorized.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming “removed from Google” means deleted everywhere. A Search result change does not delete the source page. Ask the publisher to remove the original content when that is your goal.
- Using the refresh tool while the page is unchanged. Refresh outdated content is for a source that has already changed or deleted the information, not a way to make a live page disappear.
- Sending the wrong type of request. Results about you focuses on eligible contact information. Other listed sensitive categories belong in the detailed form, while legal claims follow a separate legal route.
- Leaving out relevant URLs. Google reviews the URLs supplied. Identify the exact result and page rather than assuming a request covers every page where the information appears.
- Expecting automatic approval or a fixed timeline. Google reviews requests and can deny them. Match notifications and removal decisions are separate events, and the documented workflow does not establish a guaranteed decision time.
- Assuming every public-facing page is eligible. Google may weigh public interest, including for some government, educational, newspaper, or business pages.
A practical sequence for a complete cleanup
If the same details appear in more than one place, treat each page as its own item rather than assuming one request will clear the web. Use this sequence to keep the different actions straight:
- Search for your name and the details you are concerned about, then record the results and destination pages you want reviewed.
- Set up Results about you for eligible contact information and review matches in “To review.” Submit requests for results you want Google to assess.
- Use the detailed form for other covered sensitive information, providing the requested context and every relevant URL.
- Contact each source website or platform where the information remains published if you want the original page changed or removed.
- After a publisher changes or deletes a page, check what Google still displays and submit that URL through Refresh outdated content if the Search result remains stale.
- Check request confirmations and status, read any denial reason, and choose the next step based on whether the source page changed, the content category fits a Google policy, or a separate legal request is needed.
This sequence distinguishes discovery, policy review, source removal, and Search refresh. Keeping those actions separate makes it clearer what has actually changed: the original page, the Google result, or both.
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