How To Remove Personally Identifiable Information On Google

As the world progresses into a more technologically advanced world, we do many things on the internet. Aside from finding information in a quick and effective manner, the internet allows us to communicate with people across the globe, manage our finances, shop from various e-commerce sites, listen to music, watch videos, and many more. As such, it’s safe to say that our everyday lives are becoming increasingly interconnected with the internet.

However, as the internet evolves, some people can find ways to access our information online and use it for various purposes. Regardless if these ways are for good or sinister intentions, everyone deserves the right to protect their privacy. Privacy also goes hand in hand with online safety, ensuring that we can browse and use the internet without any harm befalling on us.

Since most of us rely on Google Search, Google has recently announced a new feature that allows us to further protect ourselves and our information. Prior to this update, we users can make an appeal for content removal from Google Search results, especially those that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that can cause distress to individuals. Now, with this update, we can look forward to having greater control of our online presence on Google Search.

What is Personally Identifiable Information?

As the name suggests, personally identifiable information (PII) are pieces of information that people or organisations can use to trace your identity on the internet. Once you have been identified, these people and organisations can further use this information to contact you online or know where you are located.

Personally identifiable information can be categorised into two types: non-sensitive and sensitive. Non-sensitive personally identifiable information is essentially information that is easily attainable from public sources, such as your age, gender, and date of birth. This information may even be posted on social media platforms with your consent and may not pose a huge risk to your safety.

On the other hand, sensitive personally identifiable information can cause you to experience embarrassment, inconvenience, and even direct harm, when disclosed to or uncompromised by unauthorised parties. Your full name, identity number, financial records and information, and medical reports are all considered sensitive personally identifiable information. To manage this information safely on the internet, they should be transmitted and stored in a secure form that offers data protection, like encryption.

How does Google’s updated policy protect my online privacy?

Google has recently expanded their data protection policy to include more than just removing sensitive personally identifiable information, such as bank account or credit card numbers that can be misused for financial embezzlement, and in cases of doxxing. With this updated policy, we users can now make requests to remove non-sensitive personally identifiable information that can be found on Google Search as well, including our phone numbers, email address, and physical address.

This is important as such information can expose users to online dangers. More often than not, this information are what allow people to commit identity theft, in which they log in to various sites using confidential credentials. As such, Google has seen the need to enable users to have the freedom and opportunity to remove such information. What’s more, this new policy can help minors under the age of 18, alongside their parents or guardians, to remove any unwanted or unauthorised images on Google Search.

To make a request to remove your personally identifiable information, all you have to do is submit a request on Google Search Help. You may be required to submit additional details once the Google team has reviewed your case and is taking the necessary steps to remove the information you specifically requested for. The team will provide you with further instructions to move forward, though you can expect a notification in your email after the information is successfully removed.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, we users have the ultimate responsibility to be in control of any information that can directly or indirectly impact our lives. The internet has made us all connected with one another, though this can bring a negative effect on our privacy and personal safety. Google Search has given us a platform to access and look for a wide range of information as never before. When used correctly and optimised efficiently, you can make a noticeable impact on your business, while also protecting your confidential data.

This is where Impossible Marketing comes in – being one of the best SEO agency in Singapore, our SEO packages are designed to increase your visibility online, so your business can gain organic reach on Google Search to expand your customer base. As an established digital marketing agency in Singapore, our services extend to not just SEO but also social media marketing and lead generation, among many others. If you would like to know more about our services, do not hesitate to contact us at +65 6208 8111 today!