Introduction
Google has all the answers. Google is one such platform that has all the personal information related to a person that has ever been shared on the internet or through social media. It is scary how everything on the internet is connected to Google.If you are looking for How to remove your phone number from Google,this article will give you all the information what you are search for.
While it is straightforward for someone to search your name and get all your personal information, including your phone number, Google now offers a form that needs to be filled out to take your personal information down. Earlier, Google agreed to take down any personal information from the internet only if you could prove that you were at immediate risk of identity theft, but not anymore.
Conditions In Which Google Takes Down Personal Information
Google will take down the information that you have requested if they fall under the following categories:
- bank account number or credit card number
- confidential government identification number, e.g., U.S. social security number
- signature picture
- photographs of identifying documents
- medical records and other classified documents
- personal contact information and login information
- explicit pictures of a person or just pictures of a minor under 18 years of age
Steps To Remove Your Phone Number From Google
- Open the Google web search support page and click on ‘Start removal request’ at the bottom.
- There will be a dropdown with options that you can select that you want Google to do with that information.
- Select the information that you want to remove from Google. e.g., phone number
- Select the category in which your personal information falls, which is personal information
- You will be asked to fill out a new form with your full name, country, email address, etc.
- You will have to submit screenshots, links to the Google search, or exact URLs of the website that your information appears on
- Once done, click on submit.
You will receive a confirmation email for the information removal request. Google will review the removal request and may ask for more information. You will soon be notified whether your request was accepted or denied, along with a reasonable explanation.
Other Ways To Remove Your Phone Number From Google
If Google denies your request to take down your phone number, there are other ways.
- go to Google Phonebook and check if your number appears in the search; if yes, then search for Google Phonebook removal tools, enter your phone number, select the reason for removal and click on submit; Or
- delete yourself from people-finder sites or data brokers which are a threat to privacy and online safety; or
- try getting in touch with the website owner where your phone number appears and ask them to take it down; or
- get professional help from paid services like DeleteMe, DoNotPay, etc. to remove your phone number from the internet
What happens after Google removes my personal information?
After accepting your request to remove your personal information from the world wide web, Google doesn’t entirely remove your personal information. Data can stay in the system for six months or longer. Google makes it difficult for anyone to search for this information, thus protecting a person’s privacy.
Data Retention Period
When some data is deleted from Google, a detention process is followed to ensure the data is entirely removed from the servers or only available anonymously. Google ensures that its services protect the information from accidental or malicious deletion. There might be delays between the time some information is deleted and copies of them are deleted from the active & backup systems.
Conclusion
Removing your phone number from Google is possible, but there is no guarantee that Google will accept your request the same. You can rely on other ways to remove your phone number from Google, which might prove helpful. It is better to avoid giving away personal information on the internet through social media sights, form filling, etc., in the first place so that no one can leak your personal information on the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.Is there a 100% guarantee that Google will take down your information?
No. Suppose your personal information doesn’t fall into the categories listed by Google or has been shared through a public record on government or official websites. In that case, they might not accept your request to take down your personal information.
2.How to remove a phone number from a Google account?
Go to the ‘phone section’ on your Google account and select the option ‘delete remove number.’ Then, go to the ‘recovery phone section’ and re-add your number if necessary.
3.Why did Google create a new policy to remove users’ personal information?
Google created this policy to prevent others from using people’s personal and sensitive information for harmful purposes like identity theft or stalking.
