In the past few hours, Google has announced the availability of new tools designed to help us understand which personal information appears in search results and, in some cases, to facilitate its removal. We are referring first of all to “Results that concern you”, a hub that in recent years has been used by over ten million people to monitor sensitive data such as telephone numbers and home addresses and which is now also extended to official documents and identifiers such as driving licenses and passports. The basic idea is simple: to allow us to have greater awareness of what the search engine shows about us and to offer us a direct channel to intervene when particularly sensitive information appears. However, it is important to immediately clarify a key point: removal from Google results is not equivalent to permanent deletion from the Web, although it can at least significantly reduce the visibility of that content.
Alongside the enhancement of the function mentioned above, Google also introduces a quicker procedure for reporting and removing intimate images spread without consent (such as those involving deepfakes, revenge-porn and sextortion), alongside continuous protection systems and support resources.
Google’s “Results that concern you” tool for deleting sensitive data
Going a little deeper into the matter, “Results about you” can be accessed from the Google app or via the address myactivity.google.com/results-about-you. It works like a real control center. Once you reach the section in question, you need to click on Start and specify which information you want to monitor: initially contact details, such as telephone number and email, and now also official document numbers, for example driving license or passport. Once inserted, the tool starts automatic monitoring of the pages indexed by the Google search engine and warns us if it finds results that contain that data.
On the security side, Google claims to use rigorous protocols and advanced encryption. Encryption is a technique that makes information readable only to those who possess the correct keys, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. And this is a crucial aspect, because we are talking about extremely sensitive data. When we receive a notification, we can evaluate whether to request the removal of the result: the request is examined and, if deemed valid according to the platform’s policies, the link is excluded from Google search.
As already mentioned above, the Results that concern you tool has already been available for some time, while the identification of official identification documents is the novelty of the moment. Regarding the availability of this latest feature, Google explained:
This new ability (to detect users’ personal documents, Ed.) will be rolling out in the United States in the next few days, and we are working to extend it to other regions.
The new process for reporting non-consensual explicit photos
In addition to the management of personal data, Google has also updated the process for reporting explicit non-consensual images, i.e. intimate content disseminated without the consent of the person portrayed. The procedure has been simplified: directly from the search results it is possible to start the request via a contextual menu. A relevant element is the possibility of sending multiple images together, avoiding repeating the report for each individual result. Furthermore, those who wish can activate continuous protection that proactively filters any similar images that may appear in the future.
Another often overlooked aspect concerns support: after sending a request, links to specialized organizations offering legal and emotional assistance are indicated. All requests, both for personal data and images, can be followed up from the same hub, with updates via email on the status of existing reports.
