In the digital era, managing personal information online is paramount. Recognising this necessity, Google, the global search engine giant, has made crucial strides to empower users with greater control over their personal data and safety online.
Aiming to enhance privacy and data management, Google has significantly refined its “Results about you” tool. Rolled out last year to enable users to request removal of search results featuring their personal contact details, this tool has now received an upgrade. Soon, a new dashboard will be at your fingertips, actively alerting you whenever your contact details appear in the search results. The tool lets you swiftly request Google to take down such data, right from your dashboard.
To use this tool, click on your Google account photo in the Google app and select “Results about you”. For now, it is available in English in the U.S., with plans to extend its reach to other languages and regions.
Image Credits: Google
In another move focused on personal safety, Google has amplified its policies around explicit images. You may remember Google’s longstanding policy allowing the removal of non-consensual explicit imagery from Search. The new changes empower users to remove any personal explicit content they no longer wish to be visible in Search, even if they uploaded it themselves in the past. This is a caveat, though; this policy does not cover any content you are currently commercialising.
Parents, take note! Google has made it simpler to access parental controls directly from Search. Just key in queries like “google parental controls” or “google family link”, and information about managing these controls will be readily accessible.
Addressing the concern of inadvertent exposure to explicit content, Google has introduced the SafeSearch blurring feature. By default, it blurs explicit content, such as adult or graphic violent material, in search results. You can modify this setting at any time, provided it is not locked by a guardian or school network administrator.
Image Credits: Google
Despite these changes, Google emphasises that removing content from Google Search doesn’t erase it from the web or other search engines. However, these updates aim to give you more authority over your personal information and offer a safer search experience.
The takeaway from this is clear: Google is striving to be the safest route to search, offering you tools to manage your digital footprint better. Let’s keep our eyes peeled for more such user-friendly updates!
