Google expanded its "Results about you" privacy tool this week, adding government ID monitoring and streamlined removal for non-consensual explicit images. The update rolled out to U.S. users with plans for international expansion.
Users can now request removal of Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, and passport details from Google Search results. Over 10 million people previously used the tool for phone numbers and addresses, according to Phandroid.
The company announced the expansion on February 10, with data protected by advanced encryption.
For explicit images, Google simplified the reporting process. Users click the three-dot menu on any image result, select "remove result," and choose "It shows a sexual image of me." The system now asks whether images are real or AI-generated deepfakes, addressing the rise of synthetic content.
Multiple images can be submitted in a single request, reflecting how quickly such content spreads. After filing, Google surfaces links to emotional and legal support organizations.
Users can opt into safeguards that filter similar results from their own searches, though this works only at an individual level.
The "Results about you" hub requires contact information and government ID details for monitoring. Google automatically scans for sensitive identifiers and notifies users when they appear online. Removal requests typically take several days for review, with complex cases requiring more time.
Google clarified that removing information from Search doesn't delete it from the web entirely. Source pages may still exist, but delisting makes them harder to find through Google's dominant search traffic.
The company recently shut down its dark web monitoring service, calling those alerts "unhelpful without actionable steps."
The timing coincides with Safer Internet Day and follows industry research showing deepfake explicit content doubling year over year. Most targets are women and girls, according to WebProNews. Google's systems now suppress similar results after successful removals, reducing reappearance under different URLs.
Privacy advocates welcomed the tools while noting limitations. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and similar organizations argue individuals need greater control over digital footprints.
Critics say the burden remains on victims rather than data brokers who profit from personal information aggregation.
Google processes billions of search queries daily and indexes trillions of web pages. Manual review faces throughput limitations despite AI assistance. Advocates call for more automated detection and proactive removal rather than waiting for individual reports.
The expansion represents Google's most significant privacy control offering to ordinary users. It marks a shift from the company's historical position as a neutral information organizer to acknowledging search results can enable stalking, harassment, and identity theft.
Google maintains boundaries around removal eligibility. The company won't delist information with legitimate public interest, including news reporting, government records, or professional directories. The policy covers personal contact information, medical records, login credentials, and confidential records.
Data broker sites like Spokeo, WhitePages, and BeenVerified remain persistent sources of the information Google now helps remove. Their listings frequently appear in search results, creating a digital whack-a-mole scenario where delisting doesn't delete underlying broker site content.
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation codified the "right to be forgotten" into law, a principle first established by the European Court of Justice in the 2014 Google Spain case. California's Consumer Privacy Act created additional obligations, though the U.S. lacks federal privacy legislation.
Google's expanded tool, announced on February 10, now allows U.S. users to request removal of government IDs from search results, building on a service already used by over 10 million people for phone numbers and addresses.
