Google helps Internet users fight online crime.
Users of the ubiquitous search engine will soon have free access to a tool that will allow anyone to see if their personal information has been stolen and placed on the malicious, illegal side of the Internet: the dark web.
The new feature “helps you check whether your personal information, such as your name, address, phone number and email address, has been found in data breaches,” the company announced in a blog post.
The information will be available through the existing My Activity tool, which allows users to control how their information appears on Google. The service can be accessed here . Anyone with a consumer Google account in 46 different countries will have access.
Once you add your contact information (Google claims it “will not be shared or used to personalize your experience on other Google products”), searches on the dark web will be performed for your data.
If anything concerning comes up, it is sent to a highly visible “results for review” section of the report.
There users can submit a request to have their data deleted.
There is a similar process for removing information from Google search results, including your contact information.
According to Google, it typically takes a few days for reviews to be posted.
The new measure to protect users coincides with Apple releasing new guidelines on how to protect yourself from phishing scams — tricks hackers use to trick people into giving up their personal information.
These attempts often come in the form of fake emails from fake banks, companies, or loved ones, asking for financial information for a seemingly urgent reason.