Google users can now ask for their personal data, like emails, addresses and phone numbers to be stripped from search results, reported NPR May 2.
Previously, Google had offered to remove information if there was a threat to users, like identity theft or doxxing, but this new move offers users the ability to make decisions about their information without risk.
Google still holds the right to deny the requests made to remove information. If they deem the information broadly useful or an important part of the public record they may refuse users' requests. Also, removing information from Google searches doesn't remove it from the internet entirely, warned Michelle Chang, Google's global policy lead for search.
"It's important to remember that removing content from Google Search won't remove it from the internet, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you're comfortable doing so," Ms. Chang told NPR.