Google Expands ‘Results About You’ to Shield IDs, Fight Deepfake Abuse
Good news for those who prefer to keep their personal info on the down-low. Google has unveiled updates to its Search safety tools to give users more control over the personal information about them that appears online.
Announced as part of Safer Internet Day, the changes expand the company’s existing “Results about you” feature and improve the processes for users to report and remove more categories of sensitive information from public results.
Previously, the tool focused mainly on contact details such as phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses. With this latest upgrade, Google is taking things to the next level, enabling users to request the removal of Search results that include highly sensitive identification data such as driver’s license numbers, passport information, and Social Security numbers.
At a time when concerns are growing about data exposure and identity theft, this is a notable move from a tech giant like Google.
How the monitoring tool works
According to Google’s blog post, the new feature offers a straightforward, no-frills way to control the information about users available online.
Users can start by tapping their account profile photo in the Google app to access the feature, then selecting “Results about you.” First-time users are prompted to enter the personal information they want monitored, followed by the option to add government ID numbers.
Once verified, Google automatically scans Search results and sends alerts to users if it detects matching information appearing online.
One important caveat is that removing links from Google Search does not delete the data from the internet; it only reduces discoverability. But considering the site is the world’s largest search engine, this can significantly limit exposure and potential misuse.
The launch of the expanded protections begins in the United States in the coming days, with broader international availability planned later.
Rising identity theft calls for new solutions
The timing of this development is purposeful, as identity theft remains a massive and growing problem.
More than 1.1 million cases were reported to the US Federal Trade Commission last year alone, with credit card fraud the most common form. Criminals also use stolen personal data to open new accounts, secure jobs, obtain medical care, or access government benefits under someone else’s name.
Of course, to enable monitoring, users must share their information with Google, including full numbers for driver’s licenses and partial digits for passports and Social Security numbers. For anyone wary about uploading their personal info, Google says this data is protected through encryption and strict security protocols designed to prevent misuse.
Streamlined takedowns of explicit images
Another big issue that Google hopes to ease with its new feature is the rise of non-consensual explicit imagery (NCEI) found online, which has intensified with the onset of generative AI. Alongside identity protections, Google is upgrading its tools for removing these NCEI images from Search, making the reporting process quicker and simpler.
Users can now click the three-dot menu next to an image result, choose “remove result,” and select the option indicating that the image depicts sexual content of them. Multiple images can be flagged simultaneously through a single submission form, and users can track all requests within the same “Results about you” hub.
On top of that, Google is introducing proactive filtering. Once a user reports explicit imagery, they can opt into safeguards that automatically filter similar results from appearing in future searches.
Addressing the AI deepfake factor
The company’s focus on NCEI is due in part to the recent explosion of deepfake and AI-generated sexual content appearing online.
While creating such images once required advanced photo-editing skills and time, anyone can now generate them with simple text prompts, and enforcement standards vary widely across AI platforms. As an unfortunate result, this has fueled a rise in harassment, privacy violations, and reputational damage.
By integrating NCEI reporting into the same dashboard as personal data monitoring, Google is making Search into a centralized place for both discovery and defensive privacy resources.
Balancing online safety and platform trust
While the protective measures give users greater power, the updates shed light on how companies are approaching personal safety in the modern tech world. Protecting users requires them to entrust platforms with even more personal information, a tradeoff Google argues is necessary to automate detection and streamline removal requests.
Still, whether these features can keep up with rapidly evolving online threats remains an open question, especially when it comes to AI-powered tools.
But for now, users have more leverage than before in controlling how their most sensitive information appears in the world’s dominant search engine. This means a more practical way for them to control what the internet knows about them, or at least what can easily be found.
For more on Google’s latest AI moves, check out how Gemini is now powering smarter conversations inside Google Maps.
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