https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/04/you-can-now-ask-google-to-remove-your-phone-number-email-or-address-from-search-results/ Advertisement [9] Advertisement [7] Krebs on Security Skip to content * Home * About the Author * Advertising/Speaking You Can Now Ask Google to Remove Your Phone Number, Email or Address from Search Results April 29, 2022 24 Comments Google said this week it is expanding the types of data people can ask to have removed from search results, to include personal contact information like your phone number, email address or physical address. The move comes just months after Google rolled out a new policy enabling people under the age of 18 (or a parent/guardian) to request removal of their images from Google search results. [googledoxx] Google has for years accepted requests to remove certain sensitive data such as bank account or credit card numbers from search results. In a blog post on Wednesday, Google's Michelle Chang wrote that the company's expanded policy now allows for the removal of additional information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials, email addresses and phone numbers when it appears in Search results. "When we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we're not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles," Chang wrote. "We'll also evaluate if the content appears as part of the public record on the sites of government or official sources. In such cases, we won't make removals." While Google's removal of a search result from its index will do nothing to remove the offending content from the site that is hosting it, getting a link decoupled from Google search results is going to make the content at that link far less visible. According to recent estimates, Google enjoys somewhere near 90 percent market share in search engine usage. KrebsOnSecurity decided to test this expanded policy with what would appear to be a no-brainer request: I asked Google to remove search result for BriansClub, one of the largest (if not THE largest) cybercrime stores for selling stolen payment card data. BriansClub has long abused my name and likeness to pimp its wares on the hacking forums. Its homepage includes a copy of my credit report, Social Security card, phone bill, and a fake but otherwise official looking government ID card. [bclogin] The login page for perhaps the most bustling cybercrime store for stolen payment card data. Briansclub updated its homepage with this information in 2019, after it got massively hacked and a copy of its customer database was shared with this author. The leaked data -- which included 26 million credit and debit card records taken from hacked online and brick-and-mortar retailers -- was ultimately shared with dozens of financial institutions. TechCrunch writes that the policy expansion comes six months after Google started allowing people under 18 or their parents request to delete their photos from search results. To do so, users need to specify that they want Google to remove "Imagery of an individual currently under the age of 18" and provide some personal information, the image URLs and search queries that would surface the results. Google also lets you submit requests to remove non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images from Google, along with involuntary fake pornography, TechCrunch notes. This post will be updated in the event Google responds one way or the other, but that may take a while: Google's automated response said: "Due to the preventative measures being taken for our support specialists in light of COVID-19, it may take longer than usual to respond to your support request. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and we'll send you a reply as soon as we can." Update: 10:30 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that people needed to show explicit or implicit threats regarding requests to remove information like one's phone number, address or email address from a search result. A spokesperson for Google said "there is no requirement that we find the content to be harmful or shared in a malicious way." This entry was posted on Friday 29th of April 2022 03:25 PM Security Tools briansclub google Michelle Chang Techcrunch Post navigation - Fighting Fake EDRs With 'Credit Ratings' for Police 24 thoughts on "You Can Now Ask Google to Remove Your Phone Number, Email or Address from Search Results" 1. AnonymousGal April 29, 2022 A quick Google search of my old landline officially unlisted phone number used to pull up my full name, age, DOB and every address that I had lived at over the past 20+ years. I just did a quick retest after reading this article, and the only remaining information about me is a legitimate Dun & Bradstreet mention of my former business name, and then all the rest of the Google search listings are for the name and email address of the person who had the landline number before I did, more than 25 years ago. He is/was a software tech and programmer, and posted messages often in Usenet newsgroups and other early online websites where techs communicated with each other. So it makes sense that Google would leave his info intact. Reply - 1. Richard April 29, 2022 So just to clarify, are you saying you submitted a request to delete to Google and they complied? If so what was the time frame? Or that your info just mysteriously disappeared once you read the article and happened to Google your "old landline officially unlisted phone number"? Reply - 1. AnonymousGal April 29, 2022 I didn't submit a request. I was just curious to see if anything had changed for me. Reply - 2. AnonymousGal April 29, 2022 No I just was curious to see if anything with my info had been changed. Reply - 2. Anne Stoneburner April 29, 2022 Please remove imagery Case closed- charges dropped Reply - 3. Someone April 29, 2022 Hopefully they are serious about this. I once asked to have an email address removed and they refused, saying it wasn't private info. Well it is, my personal email I don't ever give out to anyone. And somehow someone randomly came up with it and put it on a google post somewhere. I'll have to search again, this time for other things too. Reply - 4. KFritz April 29, 2022 A google search using my town of residence in the USA produced an out-of-date address with a current cell phone number. In case this info makes anyone feel secure. DuckDuckGo and Quant searches both produced top 5 ranks for Spokeo, which shows parts of the available data on people. The visible data for myself was accurate, and for a fee presumably anyone would get up-to-date info. Reply - 5. Gibbs April 29, 2022 So... how is this request to Google made? I cannot see anything on my account settings. Also, do I have to site a specific website (s) or will they via their magical algorithms remove any non governmental listing? I read this twice and I am either not seeing or understanding how to enact this request with Google. Some guidance would be appreciated Reply - 1. Anthony Iuzzini April 30, 2022 Please remove all information (including my name) from Google. Thank you. Reply - 6. Curious April 29, 2022 I've often wondered if the very act of searching for one's name, phone number or other details results in seeding the internet with the very information you don't want to find there. Reply - 7. Curious April 29, 2022 I've often wondered if the very act of searching for one's own name, phone number, address or other personal information actually seeds that very information onto the web Reply - 8. Frank Black April 29, 2022 Gibbs: Try this: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9673730 Reply - 1. Gibbs April 29, 2022 Hello Frank Thanks so much Reply - 9. A Non April 29, 2022 This is a canard and tantamount to playing whack-a-mole. Submitting a single request for particular websites is much too much work for the average person because doxxers can simply move it elsewhere. Google should enumerate where PII is found and allow selective removal of it across all matching pages. Reply - 10. Dennis April 30, 2022 Why do we have to do anything to remove ourselves? Why is not the law to prevent that from being listed and used in the first place? OK, there's one sleazy search engine that does it, so we will need to go and confirm that yes, this is our real info, so please remove it. (Btw, what is the guarantee that they will remove it in the first place, and not just put a check mark somewhere in their internal database that it's a real info, keep it!) And then what, there will be 10 other sleazy services that we will need to go to that sell our data and make billions? Reply - 1. D1nonlysnshn April 30, 2022 Excellent point. This could be a herculean task as one would not know on how many sites one's info is on. Anytime you find your info somewhere, you would have to ask Google to remove it. I think the reason is that no one anticipated all the issues and implications that would arise once we had the internet. There will be more issues to consider in the future as people with nefarious intentions figure out to pervert something that was intended to be beneficial at inception, or came up with something nefarious just because she/he/they/? could. Reply - 11. Mario sanchez April 30, 2022 I want all of my history deleted! Can you do this for me? Reply - 12. Angelo zenquis April 30, 2022 Thanks Google Reply - 13. Carol king April 30, 2022 Please remove mine Reply - 14. John Ganga April 30, 2022 Google knows quite well that is dangerous, very dangerous, to have all the private infos of citizens available for anyone to dig in and use on purpose. Reply - 15. anicow April 30, 2022 Thanks for the guidelines.. I have applied.. Hope it will work.. THNKS Reply - 16. Gerry April 30, 2022 Thanks for the heads up. I will apply the knowledge you shared and see how it goes. Reply - 17. Brenda Ates April 30, 2022 please remove my phone number, addresse, and email information. Thank you Reply - 18. Cynthia McCue or Mc Cue April 30, 2022 Why isn't my phone # (714) 357-5190 or address included? I have 2 emails. I'm listing my public one here from yahoo. How do I return to add my other email account from gmail? PLEASE answer using text: 714-357-5190 I do not access either of my email messages at this time. (I'm disabled, have no $$ & don't have Internet @ home. I must go to a library.) Reply - Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment * [ ] Name * [ ] Email * [ ] Website [ ] [Post Comment] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] Advertisement [6] Advertisement Mailing List Subscribe here Search KrebsOnSecurity Search for: [ ] [Search] Recent Posts * You Can Now Ask Google to Remove Your Phone Number, Email or Address from Search Results * Fighting Fake EDRs With 'Credit Ratings' for Police * Leaked Chats Show LAPSUS$ Stole T-Mobile Source Code * Conti's Ransomware Toll on the Healthcare Industry * Microsoft Patch Tuesday, April 2022 Edition Spam Nation Spam Nation A New York Times Bestseller! Thinking of a Cybersecurity Career? Thinking of a Cybersecurity Career? Read this. All About Skimmers All About Skimmers Click image for my skimmer series. Story Categories * A Little Sunshine * All About Skimmers * Ashley Madison breach * Breadcrumbs * Data Breaches * DDoS-for-Hire * Employment Fraud * How to Break Into Security * Latest Warnings * Ne'er-Do-Well News * Other * Pharma Wars * Ransomware * Russia's War on Ukraine * Security Tools * SIM Swapping * Spam Nation * Target: Small Businesses * Tax Refund Fraud * The Coming Storm * Time to Patch * Web Fraud 2.0 The Value of a Hacked PC valuehackedpc Badguy uses for your PC Badguy Uses for Your Email Badguy Uses for Your Email Your email account may be worth far more than you imagine. Donate to Krebs On Security Most Popular Posts * Sextortion Scam Uses Recipient's Hacked Passwords (1076) * Online Cheating Site AshleyMadison Hacked (798) * Sources: Target Investigating Data Breach (620) * Trump Fires Security Chief Christopher Krebs (534) * Cards Stolen in Target Breach Flood Underground Markets (445) * Reports: Liberty Reserve Founder Arrested, Site Shuttered (416) * Was the Ashley Madison Database Leaked? (376) * DDoS-Guard To Forfeit Internet Space Occupied by Parler (374) * True Goodbye: 'Using TrueCrypt Is Not Secure' (363) * Who Hacked Ashley Madison? (361) Why So Many Top Hackers Hail from Russia [computered-580x389] Category: Web Fraud 2.0 Criminnovations Innovations from the Underground [shreddedID-copy-285x189] ID Protection Services Examined Is Antivirus Dead? Is Antivirus Dead? The reasons for its decline The Growing Tax Fraud Menace The Growing Tax Fraud Menace File 'em Before the Bad Guys Can Inside a Carding Shop Inside a Carding Shop A crash course in carding. Beware Social Security Fraud Beware Social Security Fraud Sign up, or Be Signed Up! How Was Your Card Stolen? How Was Your Card Stolen? Finding out is not so easy. Krebs's 3 Rules... Krebs's 3 Rules... ...For Online Safety. (c) Krebs on Security