Google will notify you when your number or address appears in search results
Google is launching a new feature to notify you when your personal contact information, such as your phone number, address, or email address, appears on the Internet.
Previously, contact information had to be entered manually in the “results about you” dashboard, and then Google would display sites with matches and offer to send a removal request. Now you can use push notifications to notify you as soon as your contact information is available on the Internet.
You can track your deletion requests in the Google Center, which displays pending, approved, rejected, and canceled requests.
It is important to note that removing information from Google search does not mean that it is completely erased from the Internet – people will still see it when they go to a website. Google also has certain restrictions on the types of search results it can and cannot remove, and will not take action against results from governments or educational institutions.
In any case, the update significantly speeds up the process of finding and deleting your personal information from Google, which is especially important if you have been a victim of doxing. Unfortunately, the feature is currently only available in the US in English, but Google is working to make it available in other countries “soon”.
Starting from this month, Google will blur explicit images in search results by default – you can turn this option off in the settings. Parental controls are also easier to access from Search – just type in a query like “Google Parental Controls” or “Google Family Link” and you’ll see an information box explaining how to set up your settings.
