A

Anonymization

A change a publisher makes to an article or record to remove a person’s name, photo, or other identifying details while leaving the rest of the content online. Common in news unpublishing requests. Learn more

Arrest record

A record created by law enforcement when a person is taken into custody. An arrest is not a conviction; arrest records often remain public even when charges are dropped unless they are sealed or expunged. Learn more

B

Background check site

A consumer website that sells reports compiling a person’s address history, phone numbers, relatives, and sometimes court or arrest data. Most offer an opt-out. They are not consumer reporting agencies and may not be used for employment or tenant screening under the FCRA. Learn more

Booking photo

The official name for a mugshot: the photograph taken by a jail or police agency when a person is booked after an arrest. Learn more

C

Cached page

A stored copy of a web page saved by a search engine or archive. A cached copy can keep showing old content for a time after the original page changes or is deleted.

California DROP

The Delete Request and Opt-out Platform run by the California Privacy Protection Agency under the Delete Act. California residents can submit one deletion request that registered data brokers are required to process. Learn more

CCPA / CPRA

The California Consumer Privacy Act and its amendment, the California Privacy Rights Act. They give California residents rights to know, delete, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information held by covered businesses.

Consumer reporting agency

A company that compiles consumer information for eligibility decisions such as employment, housing, or credit. Consumer reporting agencies must follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including accuracy and dispute rules.

Content removal

Deleting or editing a page, post, image, or listing at the website that publishes it. Also called source removal. Copies on other websites need separate requests. Learn more

Court records aggregator

A website, such as a legal research or case-lookup site, that copies court dockets and filings from official court systems and makes them searchable by name. Learn more

D

Data broker

A company that collects personal information from public records, purchases, and other sources, then sells or publishes it. People-search sites are consumer-facing data brokers. Learn more

Data broker registry

A state list of companies that must register as data brokers. California, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont maintain data broker registries.

De-indexing

Removing a URL from a search engine’s index so it no longer appears in search results. The page itself can remain online and visible in other search engines. Learn more

Defamation

A false statement of fact, communicated to others, that damages a person’s or business’s reputation. Written defamation is libel; spoken defamation is slander. Opinions and true statements are generally not defamatory. Learn more

Digital footprint

All of the information about a person that can be found online, including content they posted and data others published about them.

DMCA takedown notice

A notice under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act asking a website, host, or search engine to remove content that infringes a copyright, such as a photo or video you created. Learn more

Doxxing

Publishing someone’s private or identifying information, such as a home address or phone number, without consent and often with intent to harass. Google and most platforms allow removal requests for doxxing content.

E

Expungement

A court process that erases or seals a criminal record so it is no longer publicly available in most contexts. Rules and eligibility vary by state. Learn more

F

FCRA

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, a US law regulating consumer reporting agencies and the use of background reports for credit, employment, insurance, and housing decisions.

G

Google Results about you

A Google tool that lets users find and request removal of Google Search results that contain their phone number, home address, or email address, and get alerts when new ones appear. Learn more

I

Impersonation

Creating a profile or content that pretends to be another person or business. Every major social platform prohibits impersonation and accepts reports. Learn more

L

Libel

Defamation in written or published form, including online posts and articles. Learn more

M

Mugshot website

A website that republishes booking photos and arrest details, often copied from jail and sheriff websites. Several US states restrict mugshot sites from charging fees to remove photos. Learn more

N

NCII

Non-consensual intimate imagery: sexual or intimate images or videos shared without the consent of the person shown. Platforms, hosts, and search engines remove NCII on request. Learn more

Noindex tag

An instruction in a page’s code that tells search engines not to show the page in search results. Publishers sometimes add noindex to old articles instead of deleting them. Learn more

O

Online reputation management (ORM)

The practice of monitoring and improving what people find about a person or business online, combining removal requests, content creation, reviews, and search strategy. Learn more

Opt-out

A request asking a website or company to stop publishing, selling, or sharing your personal information. Most people-search sites provide an opt-out form. Learn more

P

People-search site

A website that lets anyone search a name, phone number, or address and view a profile with contact details, age, relatives, and address history. Learn more

Personally identifiable information (PII)

Information that can identify a specific person, such as a full name combined with a home address, phone number, email address, date of birth, or government ID number.

Public record

Information created or kept by a government agency that is available to the public, such as court filings, property records, and some arrest records. Learn more

R

Re-listing

When a removed profile or post reappears, often because a data broker refreshed its database or content was copied to another site. Ongoing monitoring catches re-listings.

Record sealing

A court order restricting public access to a criminal or civil record. Sealed records generally cannot be viewed by the public, though some agencies may still access them. Learn more

Right to be forgotten

A right under EU and UK data protection law (GDPR) allowing individuals to ask search engines and organizations to delete or de-list personal data in certain circumstances. It does not apply in the same way in the United States.

S

Search suppression

Reducing the visibility of a negative search result by ranking accurate, relevant content above it. Suppression does not delete the original content. Learn more

Section 230

Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which generally shields websites from liability for content posted by their users. It is the main reason many sites are not legally required to remove user posts. Learn more

SERP

Search engine results page: the list of results a search engine shows for a query.

Slander

Defamation that is spoken rather than written. Learn more

StopNCII

A free tool operated by the Revenge Porn Helpline that creates a digital fingerprint (hash) of an intimate image on your device and shares it with participating platforms so they can block uploads, without the image leaving your device. Learn more

Subpoena

A legal order requiring a person or company to provide information or testimony. Identifying an anonymous poster usually requires a subpoena to the website or service provider. Learn more

T

TAKE IT DOWN Act

A 2025 US federal law that criminalizes publishing non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes, and requires covered platforms to remove reported images within 48 hours. Learn more

U

Unpublishing

When a news organization removes an article from its website, often after reviewing a request about an old story involving a private person. Learn more