Google plans to expand the list of personal data it will remove from the search engine
U.S. Technology company Google has revealed that it plans to expand the types of personal information it will remove from search results to include things, such as your physical address, phone number, and passwords.
Previously, the feature covered information that would allow someone to steal your identity or money, but now you can ask Google to stop viewing certain URLs that indicate information that may lead someone home or give them access to your accounts.
Google decided to make this decision, giving people new options, because "the Internet is always evolving," and a search engine that provides your phone number or home address can be annoying and dangerous, according to a company blog post.
The list of personal information Google will remove from the search engine includes confidential government identification numbers (ID), bank account numbers and credit card numbers, as well as handwritten signature photos and identity document images.
The list also includes personal, restricted and highly official records, such as: medical records, personal contact information, such as: actual addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, confidential data used to approve site logins, and various accounts.
According to the support page, Google will also remove things such as "scandalous or intimate, non-consensual selfies," deeply faked material, Photoshop-treated images that show your image or links to sites that include "exploitative practices."
Submitting a data removal request includes giving Google, a list of URL addresses that are linked to personal information, as well as search pages that display those links, and after submitting the request, the company will evaluate it.
The company states that it tries to "maintain access to information if content is determined to be in the public interest, as in the case of content (publishable), (professionally relevant) or (from the government)."
If Google decides that links must be removed, it says either it will not appear in any search request
Or will not appear in searches that include your name.
