NICEVILLE, Fla. — In this week’s It’s Geek to Me, Jeff Werner explains how to take back control of your personal information online using a tool from Google designed to help remove sensitive data from search results.
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Have you ever searched for yourself online and found your home address, cell phone number, and a list of your relatives staring back at you from a site you’ve never visited?
If that made your skin crawl, welcome to the club. You’ve just encountered the work of a Data Broker.
These companies or individuals are the “middlemen” of the internet. They don’t know you, but they know everything about you.
We’re talking about a multi-billion-dollar industry that thrives on your digital exhaust.
But there’s good news, and it comes from a source that just may surprise you: Google.
This company, which has something of a bad reputation for collecting everything and anything about, well, everybody, has released a tool called Results About You that lets you fight back without needing a computer science degree.
Let’s chat about these Data Brokers for a minute.
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Think of data brokers as digital private investigators that never sleep.
They employ bots that crawl the web constantly, collecting information from public records (like marriage licenses, property deeds, and court records), your social media activity, and even your retail loyalty cards.
They bundle this data into “profiles” which they sell to anyone willing to pay for them.
And who might that be?
Any business entity with an interest in making money by knowing stuff about you, to include advertisers, insurance companies, shopping sites, and people-search sites like Whitepages and Spokeo.
While they claim it’s all for “targeted marketing,” this data can also be used for identity theft, scams, or even doxing.
But don’t just believe me.
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Visit TinyURL.com/IGTM-0977 to read a report from CBS News on how giant brokers like Acxiom collect over 1,500 pieces of information on nearly every American.
Enter, Google’s “Results About You.”
For years, if you wanted your info off the web, you had to visit dozens of individual broker sites and find their intentionally hidden “opt-out” pages.
It was a game of digital Whac-A-Mole.
Google’s Results About You tool changes the game by doing the heavy lifting for you.
Here’s a short summary of what it does:
- Proactive Scanning: It regularly scans Google Search for results that contain your personal contact info, like your phone number, home address, or email.
- Instant Alerts: If it finds a match, it notifies you so you don’t have to go hunting for it.
- One-Click Requests: You can request the removal of these search results directly through the tool.
You don’t even need to be a Geek to set this up.
Just follow these steps on your smartphone or computer:
- Open the Google App or visit the Results About You Hub at TinyURL.com/IGTM-0977A
- Tap your profile icon and select “Results about you”.
- Add your info: Enter the specific details you want Google to monitor (name, address, phone).
- Review and Request: Google will show you a list of results. If you see your info where it shouldn’t be, just hit “Request removal”.
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There are a few things you should know before diving in. (Seems like there’s always a catch, right?)
Before you celebrate your new digital invisibility, remember that removing a result from Google Search is not the same as deleting it from the internet.
The original website that was the source of the data still has it.
Google just stops pointing people toward it.
Think of it like taking a business out of the phone book (remember those?).
The store is still there, but it’s a lot harder for the average person to look it up, much less find it.
To get it gone for good, you still have to contact the site owner directly.
So, is it worth it to use Results About You?
Absolutely.
While this won’t stop a dedicated hacker, it does peel off the first layer of easy-to-find info that scammers and creeps can use to target you.
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It’s a free, simple way to take back a little bit of control over your digital life.
Until next time, keep your data safe and your passwords long!
To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)
Jeff Werner, a software engineer based in Niceville, Florida, has been writing his popular “It’s Geek to Me” tech column since 2007. He shares his expertise to help readers solve everyday tech challenges.
