What Is a Right to be Forgotten Request?

A Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) request is a formal application asking Google (and other search engines) to remove search results that link to pages containing your personal data. The right is established under Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applies to residents of the European Union and United Kingdom.

When granted, the request causes Google to de-index specific URLs from its European and UK search results — meaning the content no longer appears when someone searches your name on Google.co.uk, Google.fr, Google.de and other European Google domains.

Who Can Make a Right to be Forgotten Request?

RTBF rights under GDPR apply to individuals (not companies) who are resident in the EU or UK. The request must be about content containing your own personal data — you cannot request removal of content about someone else.

Non-EU/UK residents do not have RTBF rights under GDPR, but may have equivalent rights under other privacy laws: the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the USA, LGPD in Brazil, PDPA in Thailand and Singapore, APPI in Japan, and nDSG in Switzerland.

What Content Qualifies for Right to be Forgotten Removal?

Google considers RTBF requests for content that meets one or more of these criteria:

Outdated or no longer relevant: Old news articles about personal matters that no longer reflect your current situation; court records for spent offences or cases where charges were dropped; business records that are out of date.

Inaccurate: Information that was never true or has since been corrected, including false allegations, errors in reporting, or mistaken identity.

Disproportionate: Content where the harm to your privacy outweighs any public interest in the information — for example, minor personal matters covered by local press that continue to rank years later.

Sensitive personal data: Health information, criminal records (especially for minor or spent offences), religious beliefs, sexual orientation, financial data, and other categories of sensitive personal data under GDPR.

How to Submit a Right to be Forgotten Request to Google

To submit a RTBF request directly to Google: visit support.google.com/legal and select “Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) request”; provide your identity verification; list the specific URLs you want removed (one per line); and explain why each URL should be de-indexed, referencing GDPR Article 17 grounds. Google reviews each request individually and responds by email.

A professional RTBF service prepares your submission with proper legal grounds, maximising the likelihood of approval. Poorly worded requests are frequently declined — the explanation you provide is critical.

How Long Does a Right to be Forgotten Request Take?

Google typically acknowledges RTBF requests within 1–2 weeks and issues a decision within 4–8 weeks. Complex cases involving news articles or matters of public record may take longer. If your request is declined, you can appeal to Google or escalate to your national data protection authority (UK ICO, French CNIL, German BfDI, etc.).

What Happens If My RTBF Request Is Refused?

Google refuses RTBF requests where it determines the public interest in the information outweighs your right to privacy. Common refusal grounds include: the person is a public figure; the content concerns their public role; the content is factually accurate reporting of serious matters; or there is an overriding legitimate public interest in keeping the information available.

If refused, you can: appeal directly to Google with additional evidence; escalate to your national data protection authority who can order Google to comply; pursue legal action in your jurisdiction; or use reputation management to suppress the result if removal proves impossible.