Use this documentation to identify the correct Google Search removal mechanism, assess whether exposed personal information potentially fits Google's policy, collect the minimum evidence needed, submit a request, and respond to the result.

What this guide covers

Google accepts requests concerning certain private personally identifiable information, including personal contact details, confidential government identifiers, financial account numbers, images of signatures or IDs, private records, and confidential login credentials. Google also identifies a doxxing route when personal information appears with threats or calls to harm or harass, or when a significant amount of personal information is aggregated without a legitimate purpose. These are policy categories, not automatic approval rules. Google reviews the submitted URLs and may consider public interest. (Google private-information policy)

This guide concerns results in Google Search. Removing a search result does not remove the source page. A website owner can change or delete source content; Google can remove or restrict a result under policy or law; the Refresh Outdated Content tool can update a result after the source has changed. (Google removal overview)

Start with the current state

  1. Open the result and determine whether the information is still present on the source page.
  2. If the source changed or disappeared, use Refresh outdated results.
  3. If the source still exposes the information, use Choose the correct removal pathway.
  4. If a policy route appears applicable, use the Eligibility matrix, then collect evidence.
  5. Submit through Results about you for an eligible self-request supported by that feature, or use the detailed policy request.
  6. Track the request and interpret any decision using Request status and Decision outcomes.

Scope boundaries

This documentation does not treat criticism, embarrassment, poor reviews, or negative information alone as personal-information-policy grounds. It does not merge policy reporting with legal reporting. It does not describe source removal as if Google controlled the website.

This hub is separate from ORM24 commercial pages. It provides neutral operational documentation: eligibility translation, user actions, evidence controls, and official references. It contains no service claims or sales calls to action.

Official references

Policy review record

  • Last policy review: 2026-10-17
  • Documentation version: 1.0.0