There is a lot of personal information of countless users on the internet that can be accessed by anyone by simple Google Search. This data includes email addresses, physical addresses and phone numbers. This obviously raises privacy concerns and increases the possibility of online harassment, criminal abuse and so on. Google now allows users to put in a request to move such sensitive information from Google Search results. Also Read - Google Chrome users beware! Billions of users under high threat due to multiple flaws

Notably, this will not erase their information from the internet completely. According to Google, “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.” Also Read - Google blocked 1.2 million privacy-violating apps from the Play Store last year

You can now request removal of personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address, as well as login info, from Google Search. Learn more: Also Read - Google Play will now show what data apps collect, how they use it

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 27, 2022

How to remove your phone number from Google Search

1. Go to the Google websearch support page
2. Search for “remove select personally identifiable info” and tap on this option from the drop down.
3. You will be directed to a new page, scroll down and select “Start removal request”
4. You will then see the required form where you can tap on the pencil icon and select the “Remove information you see in Google Search” option for “What do you want to do?”
5. For other the question “The information I want removed is:”, select “In Google’s search results and on a website”
6. Now click on “yes” or “no” for “Have you contacted the site’s website owner?”
7. Under the “I want to remove” category, select “Personal info, like ID numbers and private documents”, then “Contact information, like addresses, phone number or email address”. You will then see a form.
8. Fill in the required information and upload screenshots to make your case.
9. Once done, tap on “Submit”

And that is it! You now need to just sit back and wait for confirmation from Google that the said information has been removed from Google Search results.