How to request that Google remove your contact info from search results

Originally published at: How to request that Google remove your contact info from search results | Boing Boing

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I attempted it, went through the process, and then got a “Something went wrong and your request wasn’t submitted. Check your internet connection and try again.”

My conspiracy brain is wondering how much of this is Google wanting to connect more data points about me that it wasn’t previously aware of, and is using me to connect those outlying dots to keep that data for itself in the name of my privacy.

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I’ll believe the efficacy of this when I see it. Google claimed it would remove doxxing data from the copy of Usenet scraped into Google Groups, but it never did. I submitted those requests over and over for years and nothing ever happened. Fortunately the data out there on me is now so obsolete as to be useless, but for years I lived in fear of my stalkers finding it. It was a problem because while few stalkers these days are savvy enough to install an NNTP client and dig through Usenet, Google was showing results from Google Groups on page two or three of their results on my name. That made it very easy to find by even the laziest of rapey creeps.

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Starting today, we’re rolling out the new “Results about you” tool we announced earlier this year. With this feature, you can easily request the removal of search results that contain your personal phone number, home address or email address, right from the Google app.

I’m guessing that Google doesn’t send notices out w/o getting their legal department involved. “Request” means just that… request — not a guarantee that what is being requested will be followed through on.

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The stupid thing is, we shouldn’t have to request anything. Nobody wants all their personal info online. Google and everyone else knows this. This is privacy-washing* for marketing purposes, and nothing more. If they have the ability to identify and remove this data, then just do it.

*Like “green-washing” when companies pretend to be environmental. Now they are pretending to give a rat’s ass about our privacy.

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“Fiduciary responsibility to shareholders” has long been the excuse used by Big Business to grab as much as they can, and public be damned. One would think that the Bureau of Consumer Protection and FTC would have stepped in by now… but with Big Business stepping into those agencies via (mostly) GOP Congress…

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Same. I have a easement license agreement w/ my city and they saw fit years ago to publish it online w/out redacting my address, name, etc. I’ve tried to get them to remove it from their servers w/out any luck. Just tried to get it removed from Google search results and got the same result you did…bupkis!

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I live in no-privacy Georgia, where the tax dept lists name & address for your property right down to GIS coordinates, you’re listed as an officer on publicly posted business licenses & tax docs, and your full contact data is posted if you submit a question for the local city council. My name is 100% unique in the world; I’m already screwed.

:waves from right here:

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