Google Expands Search Removal Tools For Sensitive Data And Explicit Images

Google has expanded its Search removal tools to make it easier for users to request the deletion of sensitive personal information and non-consensual explicit images from search results.

Announced on Safer Internet Day

The update, announced to coincide with Safer Internet Day, strengthens Google’s existing “Results about you” system and introduces a simpler process for reporting intimate imagery shared without consent. These changes come at a time of increased regulatory scrutiny of technology platforms, rising identity fraud risks and growing public concern about how personal information is exposed and circulated online.

Why Google Is Expanding These Tools

For several years, Google has allowed individuals to request removal of certain personal details from Search, including phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses. This latest update essentially broadens that scope.

For example, users can now request removal of search results containing highly sensitive identifiers such as driver’s licence numbers, passport numbers and Social Security numbers. These forms of data are frequently targeted in identity theft and financial fraud, and their exposure online can create long-term risks.

The expansion also reflects a broader environment in which technology companies face increased expectations to protect personal data. For example, in the UK and European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, and the UK’s own version, has reinforced individuals’ rights over how personal information is processed and displayed. In the United States, a growing number of state-level privacy laws have introduced new requirements around transparency and data control.

Online abuse involving non-consensual explicit imagery also remains a significant concern, where victims often seem to have faced complex reporting systems and repeated submissions when attempting to remove harmful content from search results.

An Improvement – But Only Part Of The Solution

In its blog announcement, Google stated, “We hope that this new removal process reduces the burden that victims of non-consensual explicit imagery face.” The company also wrote, “We understand that removing existing content is only part of the solution.” These remarks indicate an acknowledgement that discoverability through search engines can intensify harm, even when content is hosted elsewhere.

Changes To The “Results About You” Tool

The “Results about you” hub is accessible through a user’s Google account in the Google app and allows individuals to monitor and manage search results that contain their personal information.

The latest update expands the categories of information that can be monitored and removed. For example, in addition to contact details, users can now add government-issued identification numbers to their monitoring list. Once details are confirmed, Google automatically scans Search results and notifies users if matching information appears.

Only Removes It From Search, Not The Website It’s On

Google says that removing a result from Search does not remove the content from the underlying website. The company notes that removing information from Search “doesn’t remove it from the web entirely”, but can help limit visibility and improve privacy.

The tool centralises removal requests within a single dashboard, enabling users to track the status of submissions and receive email notifications when decisions are made. This consolidation is designed to simplify what has previously been a fragmented process.

New Process For Removing Explicit Images

Alongside the data monitoring expansion, Google says it has also redesigned how users report non-consensual explicit imagery, and the updated process is now integrated directly into Search results. For example, users can click the three dots next to an image, select remove result, then choose “It shows a sexual image of me.” The revised system allows multiple images to be selected and submitted through a single form, removing the need to file individual reports for each result.

Google has also introduced an option to opt in to proactive safeguards. In its blog post about its latest updates, the company explained, “For added protection, the new process allows you to opt-in to safeguards that will proactively filter out any additional explicit results that might appear in similar searches.” This indicates that Google will apply additional filtering measures to reduce the likelihood of similar content reappearing in search results.

After submitting a request, users are shown links to expert organisations that provide emotional and legal support. This reflects recognition that cases involving explicit imagery often involve wider personal and legal implications.

Implications For User Privacy

For individuals, particularly those affected by doxxing, identity fraud or the distribution of intimate images without consent, the expanded tools may offer greater control over how personal information appears in search results.

Search engines play a central role in online visibility and, even if harmful content remains accessible through direct links or other platforms, removal from a dominant search engine can significantly reduce its reach.

The automatic monitoring function may also serve as an early warning mechanism. For example, if sensitive identifiers such as passport numbers appear in search results, this could indicate a broader data exposure that requires further action.

Implications

Businesses and organisations may benefit from these improved mechanisms, e.g., by being better able to protect employees, executives and customers whose data is exposed online. In cases of corporate data breaches or targeted harassment, rapid removal from Search can really limit reputational damage and reduce further risk.

That said, for businesses that publish public records or operate data aggregation services, this may mean that they may face increased removal requests. Balancing individual privacy rights with legitimate public interest information remains a complex issue, particularly where data is lawfully published.

From a regulatory perspective, search removal does not remove legal responsibility for how data is collected, stored or published. Companies must still ensure compliance with applicable data protection laws, regardless of whether search engines delist specific results.

Industry The Competition

Google’s decision is likely to influence expectations across the wider search and AI sector. For example, competing search engines, including Microsoft’s Bing, and newer AI-powered search platforms may face pressure to offer comparable privacy controls.

As generative AI systems increasingly summarise and present web content in conversational formats, questions arise about how removal requests will apply to AI-generated answers and summaries. Ensuring consistent privacy protections across traditional search results and AI outputs will be a continuing technical and policy challenge.

The update also arrives amid ongoing scrutiny of large technology platforms. Demonstrating strengthened user protection measures may contribute to broader debates about platform responsibility and digital governance.

Criticisms And Challenges

Despite the expanded tools, several limitations remain. As previously mentioned, removal from Search does not eliminate content from the internet, and material can continue to circulate through direct links, social media platforms or alternative search engines. Critics of delisting policies have also argued that removal mechanisms can conflict with transparency and public interest reporting, particularly where information is lawful and newsworthy.

Technical constraints may also limit effectiveness. For example, automated monitoring relies on identifiable patterns and structured data inputs, which may not capture all instances of exposed information, especially if data appears in unstructured formats or embedded within images.

The expanded monitoring of government identification numbers is initially rolling out in the United States, with plans to extend availability to additional regions. This phased approach reflects the fact that privacy laws and regulatory frameworks differ significantly between countries, which may shape how removal requests are assessed and how these tools are implemented in practice.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

What this ultimately demonstrates is that search visibility itself has become a central privacy issue, not just the existence of content online. By making it easier to request removals and monitor sensitive identifiers, Google is now acknowledging that discoverability through Search can materially increase harm, even where the underlying content remains legally hosted elsewhere.

For individual users, the changes provide a more structured and accessible route to reduce risk. For UK businesses, the implications are twofold. On the one hand, improved removal and monitoring tools may help limit reputational damage following data breaches, employee targeting or the exposure of sensitive executive information. On the other hand, organisations that lawfully publish data will need to be prepared for greater scrutiny and potentially higher volumes of removal requests, particularly as public awareness of these tools grows.

For regulators and policymakers, the update reinforces the idea that dominant search platforms carry practical responsibility for how information is surfaced, not just indexed. For competitors in search and AI, it sets a clearer expectation that privacy controls must be built into both traditional results and AI-generated responses.

Although these developments represent a practical improvement, the fundamental tension between visibility and free access to information remains unresolved, since search removal can reduce discoverability but does not erase content from the wider internet or eliminate all forms of online harm. The overall effectiveness of these tools will depend on how consistently they are applied, how transparently decisions are made and how well they operate across different legal jurisdictions.