GUIDE  Security  October 28, 2023  Reading time: 3 Minute(s)

Max (RS editor)

In today's digital age, safeguarding your personal information from prying eyes is crucial. With Google's dominant presence in the search engine market, it's often the first place people turn to when searching for information. Thankfully, Google offers a powerful feature that can alert you when your personal information is posted online. Even better, you can pair this feature with the "Remove your result" tool to make it significantly more challenging for anyone to find your sensitive information on the internet.

The Google Advantage

Google's search engine boasts an impressive 83% of the market share, leaving competitors like Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo trailing behind. This makes it the go-to platform for anyone looking to find information about you. This is precisely where Google's unique approach comes into play.

Rather than simply requesting that Google remove private results, this feature actively scans the web for your personal details, such as your phone number, email address, and home address. It then promptly alerts you when it detects any of this information. You can then instruct Google to eliminate these details from search results. Importantly, it's essential to note that this process doesn't erase your information from the internet entirely. Instead, it scrubs it from Google Search, making it significantly more challenging for people to find.

How to Set Up Google's Personal Information Alert

Setting up Google's personal information alert is straightforward. Follow these simple steps to keep a close eye on where your information appears:

1. Log into Google: Ensure you are logged into your Google account before you start.
2. Visit myactivity.google.com/results-about-you: Click the link or open your web browser and type this URL to access the "Results About You" page.
3. Select "Results to review"
4. Click "Get started", and then press "Next" twice to move through the setup process.
5. Add your personal information: Enter your name, address, phone number, and email. You can add multiple entries for each piece of information.
6. Confirm your data: Ensure that all the information you've entered is accurate.
7. Choose your notification method: Select how you want to be notified – via email, push notifications, or both.
8. Wait for Google to scan: After confirming your information, a pop-up will appear, indicating that Google is taking a look.
9. Sit back and wait: Now, all that's left to do is wait for notifications from Google. When you receive one, you can decide whether to remove the information from Google Search or leave it as is.

Pro Tips for Extra Control

If you make any errors during the setup or wish to make changes later, you can easily do so. Just return to the "Results About You" page to edit your information and notification preferences as needed.

In conclusion, Google's feature for alerting you when your personal information appears online, coupled with the "Remove your result" tool, provides a powerful defense against potential privacy breaches. By proactively monitoring where your information pops up, you can take control of your online presence, ensuring that sensitive details are kept safe from prying eyes. While it doesn't erase your information from the internet, it significantly reduces its visibility, making it a valuable tool in your digital privacy arsenal.

(Cover Image by Freepik)