At Defending Digital Campaigns, we are all about making sure people know about the free tools that are available to protect your online presence and personal information.
A lot of people in public life, or who work in high profile areas such as politics, likely occasionally “Google” themselves to see what’s out there on the web. They may be distressed to find deeply personal information like a home address, and be at a loss about what to do about it. That’s where Google’s Results about you feature comes into play.
We recently had a chance to pose some questions to Phoebe Wong, the Product Manager for Results about you, one of an array of Google tools for protecting high profile and high-risk users:
DDC: First off tell us a little about what you do and have done at Google:
Phoebe Wong: I’m a Product Manager at Google Search. My main areas of focus are around product solutions aiming to protect users’ privacy and reduce harmful content in Search.
DDC: What problems were users having that led to the creation of the Results about you Feature?
Phoebe: The "Results about you" feature was created to give people more control over their online presence. Our users were finding that the availability of their private contact information online could lead to direct and harmful contact, and they wanted to be able to limit the reach of this information. The goal of the feature is to make it easier for people to request the removal of search results that contain their contact information.
DDC: It’s fantastic that Google has made removal of personal information easier to remove. What are types of information Google users can request to be taken down?
Phoebe: Through the "Results about you" tool, you can request the removal of content containing your personal contact information, such as your home address, email address, or phone number. This tool is available to all Search users globally.
In addition, through the three dots next to Search results, you can request the removal of other types of information, including:
Confidential government identification (ID) numbers (e.g., Social Security number)
Bank account or credit card numbers
Images of a handwritten signature or an ID document
Highly personal, restricted, and official records (e.g., medical records)
Confidential login credentials
Explicit or intimate content distributed without permission
Images of minors
DDC: How does the process work and what kind of time expectation are there around when information will be removed? Is there any notification process for removal or requests status?
Phoebe: To request a removal, you can use the "Results about you" tool in the Google App or on desktop. You can also click the three dots next to individual Google Search results. When you enter your information into the tool, it can take up to six hours for the initial results to appear.
In early 2023, we updated our feature to allow users to opt into alerts to be notified when new results with your contact information appear, so you can quickly request their removal. This redesign of the "Results about you" tool makes it easier to monitor for your personal information.
DDC: So lets say I did a check, found personal information I wanted removed, how do I submit it? What happens going forward? Do I need to keep checking every month or so for what’s new?
Phoebe: Once you have submitted a removal request through the "Results about you" tool or by clicking the three dots next to a search result, Google will then evaluate your request. Based on the evaluation, Google may remove the URL(s) for all queries, remove the URL(s) only for queries including your name, or deny the request.
You won’t need to keep checking for new results manually. The redesigned "Results about you" tool makes it easier to set up proactive monitoring and will alert you if results containing your personal info are found.
DDC: Results about you isn’t the only way people can protect their personal information Google. What’s another free tool or service people can and should be using? And where can people find it?
Phoebe: There are also great tools like Google’s Security Checkup, Privacy Checkup, and Password Manager that can help you identify and address weak, reused, or compromised passwords within your Google Account as well as provide personalized security and privacy recommendations to keep your data private, safe, and secure.
DDC: What’s a favorite or fun feature you love that Google offers that most users don’t know about. It can be anything and does not need to be about security or privacy.
Phoebe: I love to take photos and the magic eraser tool in Google Photos is so good at erasing unwanted objects in a photo! And I know you said it doesn’t have to be about privacy, but it’s also super handy for when you need to redact and hide private info in a screenshot you need to share with people.
DDC recently put together a web page with all the free tools Google has to protect high risk users. It can be found here: https://defendcampaigns.org/protect-yourself