What URL should I use for removal requests?

Don't use the URL in your browser

When you file a removal or temporary block request for a web page, don't just copy the page URL from your browser's URL bar (the bar at the top of the browser). That probably won't work. (Why not?)

Finding the correct URL

The correct URL to use depends on the tool being used:

• If you own the page in Search Console and are using the Removals Tool, see here.
• If you don't own the page in Search Console and are using the Remove Outdated Content tool
  or
  if you're using a Google data removal request form, see here.

Removed or updated image or page still appearing?

Check the tool where you filed your request. If your removal request has been marked as "Removed" but you still see that content in our search results, double-check whether the URL that appears in our search results is exactly the same as the one you submitted for removal (including capitalization). If not, you should request removal of the additional URL(s) that still appear in search results.

Also check to see if your removal requests have expired in the Removals tool (for pages that you own in Search Console) or Remove Outdated Content tool (for pages you don't own in Search Console).

 

Why shouldn't I use the URL in my browser window?

It seems like you should be able to navigate to a web page (or image) and simply copy the URL from the browser, doesn't it? However, it's more complicated than that.

A page might have a chain of URLs pointing to it (one URL gets redirected to another, which redirects to another, which finally redirects to the page), or a site might have several different URLs that all point to the same page (for example, the mobile and desktop URLs might be different, but be essentially the same page).

The URL that you care about is the one that appears in Google Search. So you should copy the URL in Google Search. In many cases the search result URL is the same as the page URL, but in some cases it's different.