How to Make a Google Removal Request (and Pick the Right Form)

A Google removal request asks Google to stop showing a specific URL, image or piece of information in its search results. There isn’t one single form: Google runs separate routes for personal information, explicit images, doxxing, outdated pages, copyright and other legal claims, and you get the best result by choosing the route that matches your content and giving Google exactly what that route asks for.

One point shapes everything else: Google removes results from its own search, not content from the internet. The page itself stays live on the website that hosts it unless that site takes it down. So a removal request is often one step of two, and this guide covers both.

What a Google removal request can and can’t do

Google generally indexes whatever is publicly available and only removes results that fall into categories its policies or the law cover. It won’t remove a result just because it is negative, embarrassing or unfair.

Usually removable	Usually not removable through Google
Your home address, phone number or email shown with your name	A critical but accurate news article
Government ID numbers, bank or card details, login credentials	A genuine negative review
Intimate images shared without consent, including AI-generated fakes	Opinions, even harsh ones
Content that shares your details alongside threats (doxxing)	Public court records reported accurately
Pages that have already changed or been deleted but still show old text	Your own old posts that are still live and public
Content that copies your work (copyright)	Content you simply dislike

If your content sits in the right-hand column, a removal request is unlikely to work, and your time is better spent on the source site, on legal advice, or on building stronger results that outrank it.

The main Google removal routes

Google changes the names and layouts of its forms from time to time, so treat the descriptions below as a map rather than a click-by-click script. You can find each one by searching Google’s help center for the route name.

1. Personal information and “Results about you”

For contact details (home address, phone number, email address) and sensitive identifiers, Google offers a personal information removal request. In many regions this is built into the “Results about you” tool in the Google app and your Google Account, which lets you submit and track requests in one place. Our guide to Results about you walks through it in detail.

This route also covers highly sensitive data such as government ID numbers, bank account or credit card numbers, images of handwritten signatures, and confidential login credentials.

2. Non-consensual explicit images and fakes

Google has dedicated request forms for intimate images shared without consent and for sexually explicit fake imagery that depicts you. These requests are treated as a priority. If this is your situation, please read our step-by-step guide for intimate images, which also covers platform reports and hashing tools, and see our support resources.

3. Doxxing

If your contact information appears alongside explicit or implicit threats, or in a context that invites harassment, Google treats it as doxxing, which it considers more serious than a simple listing. Say clearly in your request that the content is being used to target you.

4. Sites with exploitative removal practices

Google’s policies cover pages about you on sites that charge people to take content down. If a site is demanding payment to remove something about you, mention that in your request, and don’t pay.

5. Images of people under 18

Anyone under 18, or a parent or guardian on their behalf, can ask Google to remove images of that young person from search results, with some exceptions such as cases of compelling public interest.

6. Outdated content

If a page has already been edited or deleted but Google still shows the old title or snippet, use Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool. It only works when the live page has actually changed. Our guide on removing outdated content from Google explains how to check that first.

7. Legal removal requests

Google’s legal help center handles requests based on law: copyright infringement under the DMCA, trademark issues, court orders, and, depending on where you live, claims such as defamation. For copyright, see our guide to filing a DMCA takedown notice. Only file a copyright claim if you own the work: false claims can expose you to legal liability, and the details you submit may be shared with the other party.

8. The EU “right to be forgotten”

If you live in the EU (and in some related jurisdictions), you can ask Google to delist results about you that are inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive, under GDPR data protection rules. This is not a US right. Our right to be forgotten guide covers who qualifies.

9. Pages on your own website

If you control the site, you don’t need a request form at all. Delete the page, add a noindex tag, or use the Removals tool in Google Search Console for a fast temporary block. See how to remove a page from Google search.

How to submit a Google removal request, step by step

1. Find every URL. Search your name in a private browser window, with and without your city, middle initial and old employers. Copy the exact address of each page, not just the search results page.
2. Take dated screenshots. Capture the result in Google and the content on the page itself. If a page is later edited, you will want evidence of what it showed. (If the content involves a minor in a sexualized way, don’t screenshot or save it: report the link and contact NCMEC’s Take It Down.)
3. Sort each URL into a route. One page can need two routes, for example a forum post showing your address that also copies your photo.
4. Contact the site owner where it’s safe to do so. If the site removes the content, Google will drop it after recrawling, and it disappears from every search engine, not just Google. Skip this step if contact could put you at risk.
5. Open the right Google form and follow its questions. Most forms ask what the content is, where it appears, and whether you are the person concerned or acting on their behalf.
6. Be specific. Point to the exact text or image on the page. “My home address appears in the third paragraph” is far easier to act on than “this page is about me.”
7. Keep the confirmation. Google usually sends an email when a request is received and another with the outcome. Save them in one folder with your screenshots.

What to write in the request

Many forms have a free-text box. Keep it short, factual and tied to the policy you are relying on. Here is illustrative wording for a personal information request:

The page at the URL above displays my current home address and personal mobile number next to my full name. I have not consented to this and the information is not connected to any public role I hold. I’m asking for the result to be removed under Google’s policy on personal contact information. The address appears in the “Contact” section near the top of the page.

Avoid long backstories, anger and legal threats. Reviewers are checking the content against a policy, and a clear, calm request makes that easy.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. Dana, a nurse, searches her name and finds three problems: a people search listing with her home address and phone number, a forum thread where a former neighbor posted her address and called on others to “pay her a visit,” and a local blog that has since deleted a post about a dispute but still shows its old snippet in Google.

She handles them one at a time. The people search listing goes through the personal information route, and she also uses the site’s own opt-out so the page itself disappears. The forum thread goes through the doxxing route, where she quotes the threatening line; she also reports it to the forum moderators and keeps screenshots in case she needs to contact police. The blog post needs no removal request at all: the page is gone, so she uses the outdated content tool to refresh the result.

Three pieces of content, three different routes. Sending all of them through one generic form would likely have produced one approval at most.

How long Google takes, and what happens next

Timing depends on the route, the volume of requests Google is handling and how clear your evidence is. Some requests are resolved quickly; others take longer or come back with questions. Google doesn’t promise a timeframe for most routes.

The outcome email will say whether the result was removed, partly removed (for example, only for searches on your name) or declined. If it was declined, the email usually explains why.

If Google says no

• Check the route. A request declined as “not personal information” might fit the doxxing or legal route instead.
• Add missing detail. Many declines come from requests that didn’t show where on the page the problem is. You can usually submit a new request with better evidence.
• Go to the source. A website owner can remove or edit content Google won’t touch. A polite, specific request, or for serious cases a letter from a lawyer, sometimes works where Google’s form doesn’t.
• Get legal advice for defamation. If content makes false factual claims about you, talk to a lawyer. A court order finding content unlawful is one of the strongest grounds for removal.
• Outrank what stays. When content can’t be removed, strong accurate pages about you can push it down. Our content removal service and search result suppression both start from an honest assessment of which route is realistic.

Common mistakes

• Using the wrong form. A copyright form for a privacy problem, or a privacy form for an unflattering article, gets declined.
• Filing a false DMCA claim. It can backfire legally and often gets the notice published, drawing more attention to the content.
• Submitting the search results URL. Google needs the URL of the page itself.
• Forgetting images. An image can stay in Google Images after the page result is removed. Check image results separately.
• Stopping after one pass. People search sites often republish data. Set a reminder to search your name again every few months, or set up Google Alerts for your name.
• Paying a site to remove content. It encourages the practice and doesn’t stop the same content reappearing elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Google removal request free?

Yes. Google doesn’t charge for any of its removal request routes, and you don’t need a lawyer or an agency to submit one. Be wary of anyone who claims they have special access to Google’s removal process.

Can I ask Google to remove a negative news article?

Not usually, if the article is accurate and in the public interest. Google’s routes focus on personal data, explicit images, legal violations and outdated content. You can ask the publisher to update or remove it, or build stronger results that outrank it.

Will the person who posted the content find out?

For privacy and explicit image routes, Google doesn’t generally notify the site owner who you are. Legal requests such as DMCA notices are different: details may be shared with the other party or published in a transparency database, so read the form carefully.

Can I remove something from Google on behalf of someone else?

Some routes allow an authorized representative, such as a parent for a minor or someone acting with written permission. The form will ask about your relationship to the person and may ask for proof that you are authorized.

What if the content comes back after removal?

If the same content appears at a new URL, you need a new request for that URL. For personal information, tools like Results about you can alert you to new results in supported regions.