Google Results about you vs GDPR erasure

Google Results about you helps remove eligible personal information from Google Search. A GDPR erasure request asks the website operator to delete your personal data at the source, where the right applies. Neither route guarantees that every copy disappears.

For a job application, decide what you want changed: the page itself, its visibility under your name, or both. This guide compares the routes for your own information under European data rights.

A directory displaying your home address, personal phone number or personal email is a typical reason to try Results about you. It is not a general removal tool for old opinions, unflattering photos or every mention of your name.

Open the result’s menu and choose the removal option, or follow Google’s help instructions. Save the exact page URL and explain which eligible information appears. Google reviews the submitted URLs, not automatically the whole website.

Availability varies: Google describes some features as rolling out to adults in certain markets. If the dashboard is unavailable, its personal-information removal guidance provides a detailed request route. Professional contact details are not treated like ordinary personal contact details; public-interest content may remain.

Approved removal may apply to all queries or only queries containing your name or identifier. Read the decision rather than assuming nobody can find the page again. The source remains online unless its operator changes it.

If an old page identifies you, contact the organisation responsible for its data through its privacy notice or data protection contact. Identify the specific information and URLs. Explain a truthful erasure ground, not simply that you would prefer fewer search results.

Grounds can include data no longer needed for its original purpose or unlawful processing. Withdrawing consent applies where consent was the basis and no other legal basis remains. Our GDPR erasure request guide explains how to write and follow up the request.

CNIL guidance explains that erasure has exceptions, including freedom of expression, legal obligations and legal claims. Some public-interest uses also qualify. A public-page removal does not necessarily require deleting records the operator must lawfully retain.

Under EDPB guidance, the controller must respond within 1 month of receipt. Complexity or numerous requests can justify 2 additional months; they must explain that extension within the initial month. Keep your request and reply. If there is no response or you dispute a refusal, you can complain to your data protection authority.

An outdated CV or a personal article may fall outside Results about you’s contact-data rules. Google’s European legal delisting process is a separate route for results that are inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive. Supply the URL, your name query and the reasons it should no longer appear for that query.

Google balances privacy against public interest. Job seeking or embarrassment alone does not guarantee approval. Name-based delisting limits discovery under your name; other queries may still find the page. It is not worldwide deletion, and it does not erase the website’s content.

The CNIL’s delisting explanation covers this distinction. If the source must keep material lawfully, a search request may still be worth considering, under its own rules.

• Home address in a directory: consider Google’s contact-data removal and a separate erasure request to the directory.
• Old CV on a university page: ask the publisher to remove or update it; consider European delisting if the result meets its criteria.
• Identifying forum posts: start with the forum operator. Account closure and removing posts are different; our old forum account guide explains why.

These are examples of routes to consider, not promised outcomes. Keep the exact URLs, submission dates and decisions for each request. After a source changes, search results can lag; Google’s removal guidance links to its outdated-content refresh route.

Check the original page while signed out, then repeat the relevant name search. A vanished result is not proof of source deletion, and a deleted page does not establish that all copies are gone.

Does Google removal delete information from the website?

No. It changes whether the reviewed URL appears in Google Search. The source page can remain online, accessible directly or through other services. Ask the website operator separately if you want the information erased at its source.

Can I use both routes for the same page?

Yes. A Google request and a source-site erasure request address different things. Each has its own eligibility rules and review. Keep separate records and check both the original page and the search result afterwards.

Do I need to pay for either request?

Google’s removal request routes are free. GDPR rights requests are generally free too, although manifestly unfounded or excessive requests can be refused or charged for. You do not need a paid DigitalFootprint report to request removal of a page you already know.