Google on Thursday introduced a new feature that allows people to request that their personal explicit photos be removed from its search results.
People already have the ability to remove non-consensual explicit images of themselves from Google Search, but the tech giant is updating this feature to allow them to remove any of their explicit images, including those shared with consent at the time.
Prior to the update, if someone posted an explicit personal photo on their own website and later deleted it, that image could still appear on Google Search results if someone else published that photo on another site without approval. Now, someone can request to remove that image as well. The process people must go through to have those images removed is also going to be simplified.
Other Features
Also announced on Thursday is Google’s new “Results About You” dashboard, which can show people if their contact information is appearing in search results, and alert them when any new results with their information show up. The new tool also allows people to immediately ask Google to remove that information from search results.
This doesn’t mean Google will be taking down the information from the offending web pages, but with search results removed, it will be significantly harder for others to find them.
Google has also released its new SafeSearch setting, a feature that can filter graphically violent or pornographic images that appear in search results. This has now become a default setting, automatically flagging and blurring such content. Users can adjust or turn off this setting at any time, unless their account is supervised by a parent or school network administrator.
Google is also making it easier to access parental controls. When someone types in relevant key words, such as “google parental controls” or “google family link,” an information box will appear with information on how to access and manage controls.
“We know it’s important to stay in control of your online experience,” Google said in a press release. “These new tools and updates are some of the many ways we’re continuing to make Google the safest way to Search.”
By Bill Pan
