Google now lets you delete your personal information from search. Here’s how

Finding out your personal email or phone number has been leaked online is stressful, but Google (GOOGL) now has a quick fix with its freshly updated Results About You tool.

Google’s Results About You tool has been around since 2022, but the tech giant just gave it a revamp, making it easier for you to get rid of any personal information that may have leaked online.

While the previous feature let you request the removal of personal information if you happened to stumble upon it while going through your own search results, the new feature does the scanning for you.

All you need to do is click on the Results About You tool and enter the personal information you would like Google to look out for: your home address, phone number and personal email.

Then, Google will scan all of its search results and will alert you if any of this information is available online. Once your results are in, you can choose which information you are okay with keeping up on the web and which information you would like removed.

After you sign up for the service, Google will continue to proactively monitor the search results and alert you if any new personal information is put online in the future.

Google has also made it easier to request the removal of any item you see while scrolling through the search engine yourself. If you click on the three dots next to a result and click “remove result,” Google will ask whether you wanted the information updated or deleted. If it’s the latter, it will then review the request to make sure it meets policy requirements for removal and notify you if it’s deleted.

There’s a caveat though: Google Search won’t remove information that it deems valuable to the public. In this case, if your information comes up on web pages that are owned by educational or government institutions or newspapers, then your request for removal is likely to be denied.