Get Notified When Someone Searches for You Online
Get an email alert anytime anyone uses Google to search for you online
Google has a feature called Results About You that alerts you when your personal information gets posted online. This feature uses Google Search to scan the web for your name, address, phone number, email address, and other personal information. When it finds your information on a website, it sends you an email alert.
You can pair the Results About You feature with the Remove Your Result tool to make it difficult for people to find your personal information online. The Remove Your Result tool allows you to request that Google remove links to specific websites from its search results.
To use the Results About You feature, you need to have a Google Account. Once you have a Google Account, you can go to the Results About You website and sign in. The “Results About You” dashboard will send notifications every time new results appear.
In a time when the personal and financial data of billions of people is floating around online, ripe for exploitation by data brokers, privacy has become a major concern. Google acknowledged this issue when it launched the Results About You tool.
It’s important to note that Google cannot remove all personal information from the web. However, the Results About You feature and the Remove Your Result tool can help you to make your personal information more difficult to find online.
Here are some tips for using the Results About You feature and the Remove Your Result tool:
- Review your Results About You alerts regularly and request that Google remove any links to websites you don’t want to appear in search results.
- Be sure to update your Results About You profile with any changes to your personal information.
- Be careful about sharing your personal information online. Only
- share your information with websites and organizations that you trust.
When you visit Google’s Results About You website, you’ll find it’s easy to use You can get a good idea of what to expect when you visit the Results About You website from the screenshots below. These screenshots were taken after logging in to my Google account.
Fill in the forms and get notified when someone searches Google for you
Be sure that you fill in all information correctly on the Google Results About You website. When you’ve completed filling out the forms, you’ll be notified by email anytime someone searches for you online using Google.
Important note: Google’s “Results About You” tool is currently available only in the United States. However, Google has announced plans to roll it out to more countries in the future.
Unfortunately, it seems US only
I have added this to the article…
Important note: Google’s “Results About You” tool is currently available only in the United States. However, Google has announced plans to roll it out to more countries in the future.
Thanks for pointing this out.
I got “This tool is not yet supported in your region”
I have added this to the article…
Important note: Google’s “Results About You” tool is currently available only in the United States. However, Google has announced plans to roll it out to more countries in the future.
Thanks for pointing this out.
Agree with other respondents. This tool is not available here in the UK.
I have added this to the article…
Important note: Google’s “Results About You” tool is currently available only in the United States. However, Google has announced plans to roll it out to more countries in the future.
Thanks for pointing this out.
Thank you for sharing this. I joined up with it and I know right off the bat that there are some neanderthals out there collecting information and obviously adding to it so they can no doubt sell to others. Imagine my surprise to discover that I shared my “two bedroom” house (obviously it has shrunk somewhat) with another person and the rent is outrageous. Gee, and here I thought it was paid off. Oh well. But it does get better seeing as how I am listed as the CEO of a company I won’t name because it has now merged with a much larger company. I must have been left behind.
In all seriousness I know I am going to like finding out what others though probably only a few find out about me.
I wonder if there are any safeguards in place to prevent misuse/abuse!
It seems once you log in to your Google acct you can add Nicknames or other names plus addresses and phone numbers in the find results about you section.
An unscrupulous person could originally put in their own correct info, but then add someone else’s name and phone number to update the info. That just doesn’t seem like such a great idea without Google emailing a verification request to the email address that matches the login to confirm if you actually added that info. That would at least provide a way to filter out unauthorized additions/changes.
Anyone have any thoughts about this?
I think somehow you missed the point of the article. And I’m not trying to be harsh here so don’t take this the wrong way. A lot of the crime that takes place on the internet takes place because people focus on the wront things. This article has nothing to do with Google account security, it has to do with being notified is someone posts your name, address, or phone number on the web. They don’t have to have access to any of your accounts to do that. All they need is your name, address or phone number. Anyone who knows you -friend or foe – could have one or all of those.
So let’s focus on the important part. Make sure your Google account is secured with a strong password+2FA or you set up a passcode for your Google account. Unless someone has access to your phone, 2FA is nearly impossible to crack. Passcodes (which someday will replace passwords & passwords with 2FA, are virtually crack proof). So, let’s do a hypothetical.
How would you access my Gmail account? Do you know my password? I also have 2FA set up – do you have access to my phone so you can verify you’re me trying to log in to my Google account? If you use a strong password and set up 2fA (two-factor authentication) or better yet a passcode, who will be able to access your Google account to manipulate your info. You cannot control what people post about you online, but if you use Google’s Results About You correctly, you’ll be able to find out anyone searching for you by your real name, phone number, home address.
You seem to be saying that anyone can access someone else’s Google account which does not have anything to do with Results About You. If someone can access your Google account than can do a lot more damage than just finding out you phone number.
I like to think by now everyone is using 2-Factor Authentication or a passcode to protect the Google account. If not, they have much bigger problems than Google’s Results About You feature- which is what our article was about.
We try hard to keep everyone safer on the web. And part of that mission is keeping people focused on the important things like account security and using 2FA.
I hope this helps you.