How do you remove personal in­form­a­tion from Google search?

In May 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Lux­em­bourg ruled that, under certain con­di­tions, search engines such as Google must remove some search results in the European Union when they contain personal data that is incorrect, outdated, ir­rel­ev­ant, or dis­pro­por­tion­ately harmful. While this ‘right to be forgotten’ is an EU legal concept, a similar right exists in the United Kingdom under the UK GDPR. We explain how to remove personal in­form­a­tion from Google.

How to remove personal in­form­a­tion from Google using the form

To remove personal in­form­a­tion from Google, you can use the search engine’s request form. For other types of content, such as images of minors or non-con­sen­su­al explicit material, Google provides separate removal forms. If the issue is outdated in­form­a­tion, you can submit a request through the refresh outdated content tool.

Filling out the request form

The following in­struc­tions explain how to fill out the form so you can remove personal in­form­a­tion from Google.

• Step 1: Open the form to remove personal in­form­a­tion on Google.
• Step 2: Select the country where the request applies, usually your country of residence.
• Step 3: Enter your name and email address. You can also submit the request on behalf of someone else by selecting the relevant option.
• Step 4: If the content appears under a different name, such as a nickname or stage name, indicate this under ‘Your Search Query’ and enter the name used.
• Step 5: Add the URLs you want removed from search results. Use the links exactly as they appear in Google. To include multiple URLs, select ‘+ Add URL’ and provide a separate ex­plan­a­tion for each one.
• Step 6: Confirm the de­clar­a­tion, agree to the data pro­cessing terms, and verify that your in­form­a­tion is accurate. Then enter your name as a signature and submit the request.

Close

Using the menu

You can also request the removal of personal in­form­a­tion, such as contact details, ID numbers, financial data, or passwords, directly from Google Search. To do this, open the three-dot menu next to a search result and select ‘Remove result’. The steps below show how to proceed.

• Step 1: Click the three-dot menu to the right of the displayed search result in Google Search and select the ‘Remove result’ option.
• Step 2: Click the option ‘It shows my personal info and I don’t want it there’ and then select the type of in­form­a­tion that the chosen URL reveals about you.
• Step 3: Fill out the fields that appear and finally submit your request using the ‘Submit’ button.

Why does Google have to remove search results under the EU ‘right to be forgotten’?

It began in 2014 with the Google Spain ruling. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favour of a Spanish citizen who had asked Google to remove links to articles about him. The in­form­a­tion in those articles was outdated, and he argued that it harmed his repu­ta­tion. Based on the EU Data Pro­tec­tion Directive, the court es­tab­lished the ‘right to be forgotten’, requiring Google to remove the links.

The idea behind the right to be forgotten was also in­cor­por­ated into the European General Data Pro­tec­tion Reg­u­la­tion (GDPR), which replaced the EU Data Pro­tec­tion Directive in 2018. Strictly speaking, the right to be forgotten is not an in­de­pend­ent term in the GDPR. Rather, it is a specific form of the right to erasure anchored in Article 17. Article 17 GDPR states that, in principle, there is a right to erase personal data from the internet and prevent further dis­sem­in­a­tion. The term ‘right to be forgotten’ has ul­ti­mately become es­tab­lished, par­tic­u­larly in con­nec­tion with search engines like Google.

What is Google required to remove, and what is exempt?

Google does not have to approve every removal request. In par­tic­u­lar, when it comes to public figures such as politi­cians or celebrit­ies, the public’s right to access in­form­a­tion may outweigh an in­di­vidu­al’s request for removal. In addition, this right applies only to in­di­vidu­als, not to companies.

The following situ­ations are good reasons to request the deletion of personal in­form­a­tion from Google:

• Outdated content: If in­form­a­tion is no longer accurate and continues to neg­at­ively affect you, Google may remove the result.
• No public interest: If the content is not relevant to the public, removal may be possible.
• Incorrect content: Google may remove links if you can demon­strate that the in­form­a­tion is clearly false.
• Violation of personal rights: If your rights are infringed, for example through false al­leg­a­tions, you have strong grounds for re­quest­ing removal.

Within the EU, Google can be required under the GDPR to remove search results con­tain­ing personal data. However, according to case law from the European Court of Justice, this ob­lig­a­tion generally applies only within the EU and does not extend worldwide. In practice, this means that removed results are typically no longer visible to users in the EU, but may still appear for users in other regions.

What type of content can UK users request Google to remove from search results?

UK users can request the removal of search results in two main ways, either under data pro­tec­tion law (right to erasure) or through Google’s own content removal policies.

Requests may be suc­cess­ful in cases involving:

• Personal contact in­form­a­tion such as phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses
• Gov­ern­ment-issued ID numbers (e.g. passport or driver’s license details)
• Financial or highly sensitive personal data
• Non-con­sen­su­al explicit images or content, including images of minors
• Doxxing or other per­son­ally iden­ti­fi­able in­form­a­tion shared ma­li­ciously
• Content that exposes in­di­vidu­als to fraud, identity theft, or har­ass­ment

In addition, under UK data pro­tec­tion law, removal may be granted if the in­form­a­tion is in­ac­cur­ate, outdated, ir­rel­ev­ant, or no longer in the public interest.

Is it possible to delete entries yourself?

You cannot remove entries from Google yourself, but you can submit a request. Google reviews each request and decides whether to take action, so it may take some time before you receive a response.

In addition to con­tact­ing Google, you can also reach out to the website operator directly. If the content is changed or removed at the source, the cor­res­pond­ing search results on Google will usually be updated as well.

Please note the legal notice for this article.