Guides · 07 October 2026 · 7 min read

How to Delete My Information From Google Search

Remove your personal information from Google Search using Google's own removal tool and by deleting the source pages that brokers publish about you.

To remove your personal information from Google Search, you need to do two separate things. First, ask Google to remove the result from its index. Second, delete the information from the website that published it. Google indexes what other sites publish. If the source page stays live, the result usually comes back.

This guide covers both. It also explains what you cannot remove, so you do not waste time trying.

Understand what Google can and cannot do

Google does not host most of the pages it shows you. When you search your name and see a listing on a people-search site, that page belongs to the site, not to Google. Google only points to it.

This means there are two layers to deal with:

• The Google result — the link that appears in search.
• The source page — the actual page on a data broker or other website.

Removing the Google result hides the link. Removing the source page removes the data. For a lasting effect you want both, but the source page matters most. If you only hide the result, the page is still live and still indexable later.

Step one: use Google's removal tool for sensitive personal information

Google has a request process for removing results that show certain personal details, such as contact information, when they appear in search. This is the fastest route for phone numbers, home addresses and similar data.

1. Sign in to a Google account. You can use any account to make a request.
2. Open Google's Results about you tool, or search Google Help for its page on removing personal information from Search.
3. Choose the option that matches your situation. Google separates requests by type, such as personal contact information that is being shown, or content that creates a risk of harm.
4. Enter the exact URLs of the search results you want removed. You can find these by searching your name, opening each result, and copying the web address from the browser bar.
5. Add the search terms that bring up the result, usually your name or your name plus a location.
6. Submit the request and note any reference you are given.

Google reviews each request against its own policies. It may approve the removal, ask for more detail, or decline if the content does not meet its criteria. Approval is not guaranteed, and Google decides case by case.

Even when Google removes a result, the source page stays online. That is why the next step matters.

Step two: remove the information from the source website

Find out where the data actually lives. Search your name in Google and open each result that shows your details. Most will be people-search sites or data brokers. Each one has its own removal process.

1. Open the page that shows your information and copy its URL.
2. Look for a link at the foot of the site labelled opt out, do not sell my information, privacy, or similar. Many sites place their removal process there.
3. Follow that site's removal steps. Some ask you to paste the URL of your listing. Some ask you to search for your record and select it. Some require an email confirmation.
4. Complete any verification the site asks for. This is usually an email link or a code.
5. Keep a record of the date, the site, and any confirmation you receive.
6. Repeat for every site in your search results that shows your data.

If a site is based in the United States and you are a California resident, you can send a deletion demand under the CCPA. The site should have a method for this, often the same opt-out link or a privacy email. State clearly that you are requesting deletion of your personal information under the CCPA.

Wait for Google to re-crawl

Once a source page is removed, Google will eventually drop it from search when it next crawls that address and finds nothing there. This can take time. To speed things up after the page is genuinely gone, you can use Google's tool for removing outdated content, which asks Google to refresh a result that no longer matches the live page.

Do not use the outdated-content tool while the page is still live. It only works when the page has actually changed or been taken down.

What you cannot delete

Some information is public by law and cannot be removed from the source, which means it stays findable through search.

• Court filings and case records.
• Property and land records.
• Corporate and business registrations.
• Voter registration rolls, where public.

You can sometimes get a Google result for these hidden if it exposes sensitive details, but you cannot force the underlying record to be deleted. News articles and other legitimately published content are also generally outside what Google will remove.

Be realistic about how long it lasts

Removing yourself from a broker is not permanent. Data brokers rebuild their records from upstream feeds, public records and other brokers. A listing you remove today often reappears within a few months when the site refreshes its data from those sources.

This is why removal is maintenance, not a one-time task. The practical approach is to clear the listings you can find, then check again every few months and repeat the process for anything that has come back.

A faster way to work through the list

Doing this by hand means finding every site, learning each removal process, and tracking what you have sent. For one or two results that is fine. For dozens it becomes a chore you have to repeat.

Vanish is a Mac app that finds where data brokers publish your information and sends CCPA deletion demands for you, then re-checks over time as listings reappear. It is a tool for the repetitive part. The manual steps above work on their own if you prefer to handle it yourself.

Quick summary

1. Find every Google result that shows your data and copy the URLs.
2. Use Google's removal tool to hide the results that qualify.
3. Remove the information from each source site using its opt-out or CCPA process.
4. After a page is down, use the outdated-content tool to refresh the result.
5. Accept that public records stay public, and recheck everything in a few months.