Google cannot erase anything from the internet. What it can do is stop displaying it in its search engine, and for that it offers two very different routes that are easy to confuse: the Results About You tool, designed for contact data such as your phone number or address, and the right to be forgotten form, born from a 2014 European court ruling and intended for information that should no longer be associated with your name.
If searching your name surfaces your phone number, home address or an identity document, use Google’s privacy tools. If it is an old news story or outdated data, the route is removal under data protection law. And if Google rejects it or fails to respond, you can complain to Spain’s data protection authority, the AEPD.
- Two separate mechanisms: Results About You targets contact details, while the right to be forgotten addresses outdated or irrelevant information tied to your name.
- Legal basis: The right to be forgotten stems from a 2014 EU Court of Justice ruling and is now enshrined in Article 17 of the GDPR and Article 93 of Spain’s Organic Law 3/2018.
- Escalation path: If Google refuses or stays silent, you can file a complaint with the AEPD, but only after approaching Google first.
What Results About You Is and What It Can Remove
It is a Google panel that scans search results for your contact data and lets you request removal directly from the panel. According to Google’s official help pages, you enter your name and the details you want to monitor (multiple phone numbers, several email addresses, your address), and Google checks whether they appear in search results. You can enable email or app notifications to learn when new results surface.
Results appear in a “To review” tab, from which you request removal; the status is tracked under “Removal requests.”
An important limit: for results Google considers to be in the public interest (government or educational sites, online newspapers, company websites), you will not see the “Remove result” option.
Is It Available in Spain?
Google’s help pages do not clarify this. The Spanish-language page states that some of these features are rolling out to users over 18 “in certain markets,” without publishing the list of countries, nor does the English version. Since Google does not specify whether the tool is available in Spain, the practical approach is to open the panel with your account and check whether it lets you configure the search. Country rollouts change, so it is worth checking in your own account.
If the panel does not work for you, the alternative is the form under the policy “Remove my private information from Google Search,” which does not depend on that tool. For users under 18, Google directs them straight to that detailed form.
What Personal Data Google Accepts for Removal Under Its Own Policies
Beyond contact details, Google accepts requests to remove from its search engine:
- National or tax identification numbers and identity document numbers.
- Bank account or credit card numbers.
- Images of your signature or identity document.
- Private records, such as medical histories.
- Confidential usernames and passwords.
- Doxxing content: your data alongside threats, or a significant accumulation of personal information with no legitimate purpose.
If removal is approved, the URL typically stops appearing in any search; sometimes only in searches that include your name. It never disappears from the source website. If the problem is what you yourself publish, the first step is on your own social networks.
What Exactly Is the Right to Be Forgotten and Where Does It Come From?
It is the right to ask a search engine not to display, when your name is searched, links to information about you that is inadequate, irrelevant, excessive or has become so over time. It was established by the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU ruling of 13 May 2014 in case C-131/12, following a claim by a Spanish citizen.
The case was very specific: searching his name surfaced newspaper advertisements about a real estate auction over Social Security debts published 16 years earlier. The court concluded that the search engine is responsible for its own data processing and may be obliged to remove those links even if the original publication is lawful and remains online.
Today that right is enshrined in Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation, applicable since 25 May 2018, and in Article 93 of Spain’s Organic Law 3/2018, which specifies it for internet searches. The GDPR also sets its limits: it does not apply when processing is necessary to exercise freedom of expression and information, among other exceptions.
How to Request Removal and How Google Decides
The request is made using the removal form under European data protection law. According to Google’s overview of the right to be forgotten, you must provide the specific URLs, explain how the content relates to you and why it should be removed, indicate the affected search (your first and last name) and give a contact email.
Each request is reviewed by a person, who weighs, among other factors:
- Your role in public life. Information about political candidates or senior officials is unlikely to be removed.
- The origin. It matters whether a government or a media outlet decides to keep it published.
- Age and current relevance. A news story about a trial may become outdated if it ended without a conviction.
- Sensitivity. Data about health, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or religion is more likely to be removed.
If approved, the link disappears only from searches for your name and from Google versions in countries with European regulations; following a 2019 European court decision, Google does not extend these removals outside the EU.
What to Do If Google Refuses or Does Not Respond
File a complaint with the AEPD, but only after asking Google first. The Spanish Data Protection Agency explains that it is essential to approach the search engine first and that, if it does not respond or the response is inadequate, you can file a complaint. The Agency decides case by case and its resolution can be appealed in court.
The GDPR gives one month to respond, extendable by two more if the case is complex. Keep your request and the response: you will need them to file a complaint.
A nuance the AEPD emphasizes and many people are unaware of: you do not need to first request deletion from the website that published the information. The search engine and the publisher carry out different processing, and it may be that a newspaper story should not be deleted but should be de-indexed from searches for your name.
In my view, the automated tool and the right to be forgotten solve different problems, and Google does not always make that clear. For an exposed phone number or ID, the panel or the form is enough. For a past that haunts you, the decision is legal and is made by a private company weighing information against privacy; that is why it is worth turning to the AEPD when a refusal is not well argued.