New updates to a slew of Google’s tools will make it easier for users to hide their information and explicit images from Google Search.
The Results about you tool currently allows you to request your email, address, or phone number to be removed from Google Search results, however, the coming updates aim to give you more control over what appears during searches.
“In the coming days, we’ll be rolling out a new dashboard that will let you know if web results with your contact information are showing up on Search,” said Danielle Romain, VP of Trust in a blog post.
The dashboard will then allow you to remove it from the same dashboard, as well as notify you whenever you appear in Search results in the future. Another coming feature will allow you remove explicit images that are appearing in search results, however, it comes with a large caveat. You cannot be currently commercializing when you make the request.
For example, after deleting your accounts on adult websites where you sold explicit images of yourself, you can now request your explicit images to be removed from Google Search if it’s being published without your consent somewhere else.
“Whether it’s for websites containing personal information, explicit imagery, or any other removal requests, we’ve updated and simplified the forms you use to submit requests,” Romain said.
On the more family-friendly side, updates are being made to the parental controls and to SafeSearch to give parents easier control over their children’s online activities. SafeSearch will allow parents to automatically blur explicit content in Search, while the parental controls will be more accessible.
“Just type in a relevant query like “google parental controls” or “google family link” and you will see a box with information on how to manage your parental controls,” wrote Romain.
To use this tool, click on your Google account photo and select Results about you.