Australians can now use a new Google feature that alerts you of mentions about you and your personal information (such as your phone number and address) online, with a new tool called ‘Results About You’.
While the tool is still rolling out to some users, users with the Google App installed on their phones will soon be able to see the ‘Results About You’ button, located under the profile menu (just tap on your avatar icon in the corner and you should see it).
In basic terms, the tool flags you when it finds websites online that have published your personal information, which you can then flag to Google to be delisted from Search.
On desktop, you can find the Results About You section by clicking on the menu (your avatar icon), then Manage your Google Account, then Data & Privacy, then under History settings select My activity, followed by Other activity, then Manage results about you. You may need to set up the section like I did.
In these menus, you can then go ahead and send removal requests for Google to delist the content from Search. You can also have the Results About You feature set so that you get an email notification or push notification whenever new results containing your personal information crop up.
“It’s important to note that when we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we’re not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles. And of course, removing contact information from Google Search doesn’t remove it from the web, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you’re comfortable doing so,” Google director of government affairs & public policy, Google Australia and New Zealand.
“At Google, we strongly believe in open access to information, and we also have a deep commitment to protecting people — and their privacy — online. For many years, people have been able to request the removal of certain sensitive, personally identifiable information from Search that could cause harm — for example, in cases of doxxing, or information like bank account or credit card numbers that could be used for financial fraud.”
This is a very welcome feature that definitely has obvious benefits if there’s a threat to your privacy online. If a website is creating obviously malicious material, for example, you can take action to have Google delist it from search.
Expect to see Results By You in your settings soon.
Image: Google