People can take free action to stop information about them from appearing online
People might not want certain things appearing about them online(Image: GETTY)
If Googling your own name reveals some details about yourself that you’d rather keep private, there is a way to stop that from being broadcast on the internet for people to see. Experts at Which? have highlighted a free privacy tool that could help millions of people protect private data.
Google’s ‘Results About You’ tool can help you request the removal of certain content and information online that appears in search engine results. People can take control of their own data by enabling this feature.
Signing up is a free process that begins with your email address and Google password. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one for free.
As part of the setup process, you’ll be asked to enter the personal information that you want Google to look out for. Which? experts claim that, for example, “you can enter a name, address or phone number. From this same Settings screen, you can also choose to be notified via email when results about you are found.”
At first, it can take around six hours for the first batch of searches to take place, Which? claims. After Google has had a chance to scour the web, it will list any result it has come across on the dashboard.
Which? wrote: “If you submit a removal request, Google will review the details and let you know if the information has been removed from its search listings. If information is considered to be of public interest or part of a news report, there’s a chance it will stay online.”
Google can display a variety of personal information in search results, depending on your privacy settings, such as your name, contact information, location, and details from your public profiles across Google services, including your YouTube channel. If people have their requests turned down via the digital tool, they can seek further support on removing private information from Google Search here.
In other technology news, people have been given a WhatsApp alert that could mean their ‘most private chats may soon be exposed.’ Anyone using the messaging platform, as well as others like Telegram or Signal on Android devices, needs to be on high alert.
It comes as news of a new digital bug that may soon start targeting popular devices. A ‘new threat’, called Sturnus, has been highlighted by the team at Threat Fabric, and those infected could find their most private chats viewed and exposed by cybercriminals.
It’s thought that Sturnus is in the early stages of development and has yet to infect a large number of devices, but that doesn’t mean anyone should let their guard down.
