Google is expanding its tools for removing your sensitive information and nonconsensual images from its search results. The company announced on Tuesday that you can now use its “results about you” tool to remove your driver’s license, passport, and Social Security number from search, in addition to your phone number and address.
Once you add your information to Google’s “results about you” tool, Google will show search results containing your data, while giving you the option to request removal. Google says it protects the information entered into the tool with “advanced encryption.” You can sign up to receive notifications when it detects new search results containing your personal data, though the company notes the tool doesn’t remove your information “from the web entirely.” Google is bringing this update to the US in the coming days, with plans to expand it to other regions.
Google is building on efforts to help stop the spread of nonconsensual explicit images in its results, too. You can now ask that Google remove an image by selecting the three dots at the top of a picture, choosing “remove results,” and clicking on the option that says, “It shows a sexual image of me.” Google’s updated tool also lets you ask the company to remove multiple images at once, as well as opt-into protections that will “proactively filter out” similar explicit results in the future. This feature is rolling out to “most countries” in the coming days.
