Want to purge yourself from Google history? Know how to disappear from Google Search results

If you are worried that your personal information including number, address, and email comes up on Google search, then you can relax. Know this easy way to purge yourself from Google history.

Google has made removing your personal information from search results easier. (Unsplash)

In the era of increasing digital intrusion into private life, there has been little anyone could have done to fight it. In fact, most of us have provided our personal information to one website or the other. Whether it is a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or ecommerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra, we have all added our name, phone number, address, and email at the very least. While these are large websites that have strong privacy policies, there are countless small and shady websites that do not protect user data. On top of that, many websites fall for security breaches and data leaks, and often our personal information ends up online, including our bank accounts. The problem worsens when it shows up in Google search results. However, Google recognizes the issue and has made the process of removing such information easier. So, read on to find out how to purge yourself from Google history.

Purging yourself from Google history

The Google ‘Results about you' feature was launched last year in September, according to a report by 9to5Google. The feature is designed to simplify the process of removing search results from Google that contain the personal information of users. Google announced this feature in its I/O event in 2022 and later dropped it to the Google app in the second half of the year.

Users could remove their personal information earlier as well, but the process used to be more time-consuming and complicated. In case a user found their phone number, address, or even financial information floating around, they would have to go to a Google support page and fill out a form mentioning the URL they wanted to be removed from the search result. Needless to say, it would take a considerable amount of time for Google to verify the form and take action.

With the new ‘Results about you' tool, users will be able to make the request for removal directly from the search page. Users can simply click the three dots next to the URL text and access the ‘About this result' page. From there, just clicking on the ‘Remove result' option will begin the process of removing the page.

The tool also has an option to let users track their removal requests. Users can go to the Google app and click on their profile picture to pop open the ‘Results about you' screen where they can monitor the status of their requests directly. According to 9to5Google, this screen will also allow users to add new requests for search result removal as well.

Do note that this process just deindexes the information showing on Google search results. People can still visit the website by typing the URL and accessing the information. As of now, there is no all-encompassing way to eliminate yourself entirely from Google search indexes or remove your data from all the websites in one fell swoop.