Google Can Now Remove Your Phone Number, Address From Search Results

From PC Mag: Google is now letting users request to remove their phone numbers, physical addresses, and email addresses from the company's search results.

The new policy is intended to prevent bad actors from using people's sensitive information in malicious ways, like identity theft or in-person stalking. "The internet is always evolving—with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways—so our policies and protections need to evolve, too," says Michelle Chang, Google’s global policy lead for search.

You could already request that Google remove certain personally identifiable information from search results. But options were limited to national ID numbers, bank account and credit card numbers, along with images of your personal signature and medical records. (Users can also ask Google to remove non-consensual nudes of themselves and deepfake porn.)

Wednesday’s announcement expands personally identifiable information to include "personal contact info," including physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. In addition, you can request that Google pull any of your login credentials from its search results.

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