Google is making it harder for scammers to steal your identity — and the effort can’t come soon enough.
The tech giant quietly updated its “Results about you” tool on Feb. 10, expanding it to allow users to scrub even more sensitive personal information from search results — including passport numbers, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers — on top of the phone numbers, emails and home addresses the original tool already covered.
The timing is no accident.
In 2025, the FTC received 3 million fraud reports from consumers who lost a staggering $15.9 billion to scammers, according to FTC Associate Director Lois Greisman, who testified before the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday.
Identity theft can devastate victims in ways that go far beyond a drained bank account — scammers can impersonate their targets to land jobs, obtain medical care, claim government benefits, rack up credit card debt, or even drag a stolen identity into criminal investigations.
The update is rolling out over a period of weeks to US English users first.
To install the new feature on a Google App or on a browser, simply go to myactivity.google.com/results-about-you and the site provides a step-by-step guide to the updated “Results about you” tool.
There’s also a new, faster way to remove non-consensual explicit images.
“We understand that removing existing content is only part of the solution,” Google wrote in a blog post. “For added protection, the new process allows you to opt-in to safeguards that will proactively filter out any additional explicit results that might appear in similar searches.”
Now, users just have to click on the three dots on an image, select “remove result,” then tap “It shows a sexual image of me.”
These features are currently rolling out for users who are over the age of 18.
To request removal of a result that shows personal info for a person under the age of 18, use the detailed removal request form.
The scans begin immediately after the form is submitted.