You may not want to live with your phone number or address being visible in the search results of Google, and you can work to change that using the tools provided by Google.
The first tool you can use is the “Results About You” tool, which allows users to request the removal of their personally identifiable information from Google’s search results.
The second tool that Google provides is the ability to report a particular search result directly from the search results page.
Read below for instructions on how to restrict the revealing of personal information.
Step 1: Search your own name on Google
Start by searching for your full name in Google. You can narrow down the search even further by adding in your city, phone number or address if you think these could also appear in the search results.
Google itself will suggest that you search for your name and your home address to make it easier to find any of your personal information that has been exposed.
This allows you to see what others might be able to find out about you on the internet.
Step 2: Open the result you want to remove
If you spot a search result showing your personal information, click the three-dot menu next to that result. Google says this opens the About this result panel, where you may see an option to remove it.
This is the quickest route when you already know which result is the problem.
Step 3: Choose “Remove result”
In the Inside the Panel section, select “Remove Result”, and then select the Page Contains My Personal Information, and I Don’t Want It To Be Included. According to Google’s help documentation, you may be asked to specify what type of information the page has (such as contact information) when you click “Remove Result”. Submit your request using the Reporting flow.
Step 4: Enter your details exactly as they appear
This part matters. Google says the name and contact details you enter in the form should match the result page exactly. So if the page shows an old address, a nickname, or one specific phone number, use that exact version in the form.
If the same page contains more than one piece of personal information, Google says you usually do not need to file separate requests for the same URL.
Step 5: Check your email for confirmation
After you submit the request, Google says it will send a confirmation email within the next few hours. That email confirms your request was received and gives you a way to track what happens next.
Do not skip this part, because status updates are tied to your Google account email.
Step 6: Track the status of your request
According to Google, you can track how your request is performing via their “Results About you” page. Your request will be listed as either “In Progress”, “Approved”, “Denied” or “Not Completed”.
Additionally, you’ll be able to view the flagged page, the time the request was submitted and the request ID. Google also states that once a request has been approved, it may take a matter of seconds for the associated result to disappear from Search.
So, in other words, the approval of your request will not guarantee that it will be removed from search engine results instantly after submitting the request.
Step 7: Set up Google’s ‘Results about you’ monitoring
Instead of checking all the time manually, you can also turn on Results about you so Google keeps looking for personal information linked to you. Google says this feature can monitor for personal contact details in Search results and notify you when new matches appear. It can also help users request removal from inside the tool.
This is the smarter long-term move if you are privacy-conscious or worried about data brokers.
Also, Google can remove a result from Google Search, but that does not always remove the information from the original website.
Google’s help guidance says that if the content is still live on the source page, you should also contact the website owner to request removal there.
