Can I have internet content about me removed?

Finding information or pictures of yourself online that you didn’t post or don’t want to be available can be harrowing. You may feel as though your privacy has been violated or that your personal security is at risk and it is likely to be imperative that you have the content removed or at least gain control over its use.

The following guide explains how the law can protect the content about you that is online and what you can do to have items removed from the internet. There is also information relating to internet laws and your responsibility to ensure that the content you upload is legal and not likely to cause distress to others.

When could personal internet content be a problem?

If you find content about yourself online, whether it be an embarrassing photo, unflattering video or your personal details, it’s likely to cause you distress as well as a host of other problems. You may simply find the angle of a photo unflattering or could be a victim of identity fraud, if your personal data is accidentally or maliciously uploaded.

It may be that there is inappropriate or immature content relating to you that was uploaded some time ago, but your new job or evolved personality means that you no longer approve of the content.

There can be any number of reasons as to why you want to remove internet content about you and the process can seem complex and time consuming.

What can I do to remove unwanted internet content about myself?

There are a number of things that can be done in order for you to remove unwanted internet content about yourself, but do be prepared to be patient and committed to the task.

The first thing to realise is that Google and other search engines are rarely responsible for creating content. Instead, they act as a huge indexing system to retrieve content that is created and published by others. So, if you need to remove content about yourself, the first thing to do is find out the source. You may initially discover the content through a search engine, but click on to the relevant page to find out the original source.

In simple cases, this could mean that you delete data or change your privacy settings on social media accounts. Similarly, if you have uploaded comments, blogs, photos or videos that you no longer want to be online, you can delete these yourself. Should the content has been shared by someone you know, speak openly about your concerns and ask them to delete the content that causes you distress.

Just as you would ask friends or family to delete content about you that you don’t approve of, you can ask the owner of any website that holds content about you to do the same. To do this, find out who the site owner is (there’s usually a contact page or information at the very bottom of the relevant page) and request that they remove the content that you don’t want to be online. Do be aware that even if the owner makes the changes immediately, the content will still show up on an internet search for a while. Search engines index periodically and so you will have to wait for the next indexing to be completed before the content no longer shows and this usually takes a couple of weeks.

If you want to urgently remove content, you can speed up the process by completing a removal form from the relevant search engine. For example, if you are finding content about yourself through Google, you can complete the Google Removal Tool form and this should help accelerate the time it takes to remove unwanted content. Be aware that you’ll need to complete the relevant form for each search engine and so you will need to persevere.

Are there times when it won’t be possible to remove internet content about myself?

If you are not able to find the owner of the relevant website or their contact details are not traceable, you can still make the request to the search engine to de-index the content. This effectively means that the content may still be present but it cannot be found through a search engine and so if someone wanted to look at it, they’d have to know exactly where to find it.

If the information or content is defamatory or illegal, you can expect action to be taken quickly. So, if there’s personal data, financial information, revealing images and such like, you can expect the de-indexing to happen promptly. However, if the content doesn’t fall into this category, you may need to persevere and continue to politely request its removal.

Can I have internet content buried?

If worst comes to the worst, you might be able to ‘bury’ the offending search results about you by putting more positive content about yourself online. In doing so, search engines are likely to put the offending content further down the search list in favour of the newer, more positive content.

For example, social media links tend to rank in the highest spots of search engine results and so if you join more social network sites under your real name and set the privacy to ‘public’, the new accounts will rank higher and so you could push the unwanted content down in the rank. 

Most searchers won’t look beyond page one of results in a search engine and so by pushing the unwanted content further down in the rankings, you minimise the chance of anyone else finding it.

There are some companies that promise to erase you completely or partially from the internet. Be cautioned that this is not always possible and the sums charged tend to be high. If this is a route that you decide to take, research the company fully beforehand to ensure they are reputable and recommended.

Can I prevent unwanted content from making it online?

The old adage of ‘prevention is better than cure’ is highly appropriate when it comes to internet content. There are a number of ways that you can help protect your personal information and safeguard yourself from unwanted content about you making it online.

The following tips will help you to maintain the best control over your content and minimise the risk of issues arising:

Have your social media accounts set to ‘private’ rather than ‘public’. This means that your profile won’t show up on internet searches and what you choose to share online remains shared only with those that you have agreed to connect with.

Carry out searches of yourself using search engines such as Google to see what comes up. This is the best way to find out if there are any unwanted images or pieces of information about you online and helps you understand where they have come from.

Be aware of your surroundings when you take photos and check them before you share them online. It is all too easy to mistakenly leave a bank statement on the side whilst you have a photo taken. Innocently sharing that photo could easily lead to your personal details being visible to anyone who has access to what you share. Likewise, be sure to crop photos to remove anyone who wasn’;t aware that their photo was being taken, particularly if they are likely to be offended or would find the photo unflattering.