Google to Remove Personal Information by Request in New Anti-Doxxing Feature

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 27 April 2022, 09:04 pm

Google is expanding the types of personal information that it will remove from search results to cover things like phone numbers, physical addresses, and passwords.

In the past, the feature mostly covered information that would let someone steal your identity or your money.

But now, you can ask Google to stop showing certain URLs that point to information that could lead someone to your home or give them access to your accounts, according to Engadget.

Google to Remove Certain Search Results

According to a blog post, Google's giving people new options for their personal information because they believe the internet is always evolving, and its search engine giving out your phone number or home address can be both jarring and very dangerous.

Here is a list of what kinds of information Google may remove: confidential government identification (ID) numbers like U.S. Social Security Number, Argentine Single Tax Identification Number, and others.

Google will also remove bank account numbers, credit card numbers, images of handwritten signatures, images of ID docs, highly personal, restricted, and official records, like medical records (used to read "Confidential personal medical records").

Personal contact info (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses) and confidential login credentials will also be removed.

Also Read: Reddit Bans 2 Controversial Alt-Right Subreddits For Violating Site's Doxxing Policy

According to a support page, Google will also remove things such as non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images, pornographic deepfakes or Photoshops featuring your likeness, or links to sites with exploitative removal practices.

Google to Change Certain URLs

Making a request involves giving Google a list of URLs that link to the personal information, as well as the search pages that surface those links.

Once you've submitted a request, Google will evaluate it. Its FAQ says it tries to preserve information access if the content is determined to be of public interest, as in the case of content that is newsworthy, professionally relevant, or that came from a government.

If search giant does decide that the links should be removed, it says they will either not show up for any search query or that they won't be surfaced for searches that include your name.

Google seems to be applying a very high bar for what counts as personally identifying information, which makes it a bit different from the systems it's had to implement in places like the European Union to comply with so-called right to be forgotten rules.

Those laws let people request that links they deem unflattering or irrelevant be taken down, which isn't the case here because the rules Google added today only cover links to very sensitive info.

If you've ever searched for someone's phone number, you may have ended up at a website that exists explicitly to sell people's information, promising to give it to you if you subscribe.

When asked if the new policy would apply to these types of sites, Google spokesperson Ned Adriance told The Verge that it would.

Adriance said that if they can verify that such links contain personally identifiable information, there is no other content on the webpage that may be of public interest, and they receive a request to remove those RUs, they will do so, assuming that they meet the requirements outlined in the help page, whether or not the information is behind a paywall.

In 2021, Twitter prohibited users from posting pictures of others without their consent to prevent doxxing on the platform.

In early 2022, Meta wanted Facebook to no longer allow address on the site because of doxxing issues.