Yes, some negative search results can be removed from Google Search—but an unfavorable result alone is not enough. Removal may be possible when a result meets a legal requirement or a published policy for sensitive personal information, or qualifies for a privacy delisting request in a jurisdiction such as the European Union. In other cases, the practical route is to ask the publisher to change the page, then request an update to Google’s listing if it remains outdated.
These are different outcomes: a search engine can delist a result without deleting the webpage. The right route depends on what the page contains, where you are, and whether you want the source itself changed or only a search listing affected.
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Which route fits your situation?
| Route | Who acts | When it fits | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask the publisher to remove or correct the page | The website owner or publisher | The page is false, outdated, or otherwise should be changed at its source | The underlying page can change or disappear; Google updates its listing after recrawling |
| Request a refresh of outdated content | You ask Google to recrawl | The publisher has already removed or edited the content, but Search still shows the old result or snippet | Google can update its search listing; the request does not itself change the publisher’s page |
| Use Google’s policy or legal removal process | Google reviews a request | The result may fall under a published policy for personal information or a legal requirement | A qualifying URL may be removed from specified Google results; the source page may remain online |
| Make a jurisdiction-specific privacy delisting request | Google assesses a request under applicable law | In the EU, for example, a person seeks delisting for searches related to their name | Eligible results may be delisted within the scope of applicable law and geography |
Google describes its policies and legal routes in its overview of why it removes content from Search. A removal is not automatic: Google evaluates whether a request meets the relevant policy or legal standard.
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Can Google remove a negative result about you?
Possibly, if it qualifies under a specific policy or legal process. Google lists categories that can include highly personal information such as financial or medical details, government-issued identification numbers, intimate imagery published without consent, exploitative-removal pages, and contact information shown alongside personal threats. The applicable criteria depend on the type of content and the circumstances. Use Google’s current reporting flow for the relevant category rather than assuming that any embarrassing or damaging result is eligible.
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A request may also be required by law. Legal rules and reporting procedures vary by country, and a route available in one place may not apply in another.
When does the EU right to be forgotten apply?
Google says people in the EU can request that certain results be delisted for searches related to their name. The assessment considers whether information is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant, or excessive, and whether the public interest favors keeping it available in search results. This is a balance, not a guarantee of removal.
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Google may weigh the requester’s role in public life and whether the result relates to that role; how current and relevant the information remains; evidence about its accuracy; and the sensitivity of the material. No single factor is decisive. For instance, a report about an upcoming criminal trial may become outdated after the trial ends without a conviction or a conviction is overturned. Reporting on a public figure’s professional conduct may remain relevant to that person’s role.
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How to make a delisting request
Google says a request should identify the exact material and explain why it should no longer appear for the relevant search. It may ask for more information, and its described review can involve automated triage, a trained reviewer, or both.
- Collect the exact URL or URLs. Identify each result you want considered rather than describing a site or topic generally.
- Specify the name or query. State the search term for which you are seeking delisting.
- Explain the connection and grounds. Describe how the material relates to you and why it should be delisted under the applicable policy or privacy law. Provide reliable supporting evidence when disputing accuracy.
- Provide an email address and submit through the relevant Google form. Google may follow up for additional details.
Approval is not assured. Google considers the facts and any public interest in access to the information.
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Why asking the publisher is often the broadest fix
Google controls its search index, not the original website. If a publisher removes or corrects a page, Google says Search updates its result after its crawler next visits the page. If the page has changed but the search listing still shows old text, request a refresh of outdated content so Google can recrawl it.
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If you control the website, block or remove the source page
For a page on your own site, Google Search Central distinguishes temporary removal from lasting changes to what Google can index. Remove or update the page, password-protect it, or use a noindex tag to keep it out of Google Search. A request in the Removals tool is temporary and lasts about six months; it is not a substitute for changing the page or applying a durable indexing control.
A noindex tag does not stop people from visiting the URL, nor does it control search engines that do not support the directive. Google says not to use robots.txt as the method for blocking a page from Search. Follow the steps in Google Search Central’s guide to removing a page hosted on your site.
What historical data can—and cannot—tell you
Google Research’s 2019 study, “Five Years of the Right to be Forgotten,” retrospectively analyzed 3.2 million URLs requested for delisting from Google Search over five years. It reported that 1,000 requesters generated 16% of requests and that 17% of removals related to requesters’ legal history, including crimes and wrongdoing.
Those figures describe a historical dataset, not current approval rates or the odds that an individual request will succeed. They show that delisting has been sought and granted in varied circumstances, not that every negative result—or every result about legal history—qualifies today.
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