This article was sponsored by Erase. The opinions expressed in this part are the sponsor’s own.
Say a client sends you five links. There’s a Google review, a Yelp review, a republished court record, a Reddit thread, and a local news story. Which ones can arrive down?
Going by our 2026 data, an eligible Google assessment and a republished court document normally can. The Yelp review, the Reddit thread, and the news narrative are additional difficult.
Negative satisfied can additionally appear in AI-generated answers. Our May inspection for SEJ established AI Overviews showing negative reviews in searches that didn’t ask for them. That makes it helpful to cognize which sources are apt to eliminate satisfied and which necessitate a distinct approach.
In This How-To:
- • Negative Search Results: What 2026 Removal Data Shows
- • How To Remove Negative Search Results By Source
- • Step 1: Group Negative Search Results By Source
- • Step 2a: How To Remove Google Reviews
- • Step 2b: How To Remove Yelp Reviews
- • Step 2c: How To Remove Republished Court Records
- • Step 2d: How To Remove Mugshots Or Opt Out Of People-Search Listings
- • Step 2e: How To Remove Social Posts That Break Platform Rules
- • Step 2f: What To Do About News, Reddit Or Government Pages
Negative Search Results: What 2026 Removal Data Shows
We looked at 22,620 links clients sent to Erase.com between January 1 and September 21, 2026. They came from concerning 1,650 websites, and the results divided sharply by site.
In this analysis, a prosperous elimination could average taking a leaf down, de-indexing it, or removing the client’s name or photo. De-indexing keeps a leaf out of Google’s hunt results without taking it offline.
What People Asked To Remove: Google Reviews Led
Google reviews made up concerning fractional of the links in the category breakdown. That breakdown excludes the image-heavy case described in the methodology.
- Google reviews: 52%
- Images and video: 13%
- Reviews on another sites: 11%
- News articles: 6%
- Social media posts: 6%
- Court records: 4%
- Mugshots: 2%
- Forums, mostly Reddit: 2%
- People-search listings: 1%
More than 1,000 websites showed up lone formerly in the data. News links solitary came from 708 distinct outlets, all alongside its own editors and rules.
Easier To Remove: Eligible Google Reviews
Google reviews came downward additional reliably than nearly item alternatively we handled.
Google lists the reviews it volition eliminate in its prohibited and restricted satisfied policy. The catalog includes counterfeit reviews, impersonation, harassment, off-topic posts, and individual information. When a assessment plainly fits one of those, Google normally takes it down.
Fastest To Remove: Court Records, Mugshots & People-Search Listings
Republished court records, mugshots, and people-search listings were the most dependable categories and the fastest to remove. The median elimination in all took small than two weeks.
Harder To Remove: Yelp Reviews, Reddit Threads & News Stories
Reviews on Yelp, Trustpilot, Indeed, BBB, and Glassdoor rarely came down. Reddit threads and news stories were additionally harder to remove.
How Long Successful Content Removals Took
For prosperous outcomes, the median period was 18 days. Of those, 71% were confirmed inside 30 days and 91% inside 90 days. These figures depict how lengthy prosperous outcomes took, not the likelihood that a submitted nexus would be removed.
| Content type | Median days to removal | Removed inside 30 days |
| Court records | 9 | 89% |
| People-search listings | 9 | 84% |
| Mugshots | 11 | 93% |
| Social media posts | 14 | 79% |
| Google reviews | 19 | 67% |
| News articles | 28 | 51% |
| All removals | 18 | 71% |
Full removals were faster than de-indexing, at a median of 14 days versus 21.
Some prosperous Google assessment removals took much longer. About one in 10 took additional than 90 days, so don’t provision up on a study following a month.
How To Remove Negative Search Results By Source
Use these findings to set expectations, afterward prosecute the elimination path that matches all source.
Step 1: Group Negative Search Results By Source
Group your negative links by website, afterward inspect all site’s rules and elimination options. Start alongside the sites that move fast, akin court-record and people-search sites. If elimination or de-indexing isn’t available, scheme to push the nexus downward in search instead.
Choose the path that matches all link’s source: Google reviews | Yelp and another reviews | Court records | Mugshots and people-search | Social posts | News, Reddit and authorities pages.
Step 2a: How To Remove Google Reviews
Before reporting a Google review, inspect the platform’s policies and the lawful limits on elimination requests. The FTC’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule took consequence in October 2024. It bars businesses from using threats, intimidation, or false accusations to get a assessment removed.
Check Whether The Google Review Violates Policy
- Find the guideline the assessment breaks. A assessment that is not according to a genuine cognition can qualify. A harsh but honest assessment normally doesn’t. This leaf covers which Google reviews can be removed.
Report The Google Review, Then Appeal If Needed
- Report it in Google’s Reviews Management Tool. If Google says no, you can petition in the identical tool and add supporting details.
Step 2b: How To Remove Yelp Reviews
Google reviews accounted for 82% of our assessment work. Yelp made up concerning fractional of the rest, alongside additional than 1,000 links throughout its U.S. and Canadian sites. Very few of those Yelp reviews came down.
Check The Review Against That Site’s Rules
Compare the assessment alongside that site’s rules. In our data, assessment sites another than Google remaining reviews up far additional often.
Reply Publicly If The Review Stays Up
If a Yelp or Trustpilot assessment breaks no rule, a short, actual community answer is normally the improved move.
Step 2c: How To Remove Republished Court Records
Court document sites specified as Trellis, UniCourt, Justia, CaseMine, vLex, and CourtListener normally removed or de-indexed the records we handled. These sites copy filings from court websites. De-indexing method Google stops showing the page, but the leaf motionless exists. More than a fourth of prosperous court-record cases engaged de-indexing fairly than complete removal.
Find Republished Court Records, Then Request Host Removal
The court’s own document rarely changes, so commencement alongside the copies. Here is how elimination from court document sites works.
Step 2d: How To Remove Mugshots Or Opt Out Of People-Search Listings
Ask The Mugshot Site To Remove Its Listing
Mugshot sites, including Mugshots.zone, Arrests.org, RecentlyBooked, and BustedNewspaper, normally took listings down. We keep a guide for all of these sites.
Opt Out Of People-Search Sites, Then Recheck
People-search sites catalog residence addresses and phone numbers. Opt-outs on Whitepages, TruePeopleSearch, Radaris, Spokeo, and FastPeopleSearch normally worked. As our August SEJ article explained, listings can arrive rear whenever a location refreshes its data.
Step 2e: How To Remove Social Posts That Break Platform Rules
Instagram posts came downward most often, followed by posts on Facebook and X. TikTok and YouTube were the hardest social platforms in our data whenever there wasn’t a apparent copyright or harmful satisfied concern.
Identify Which Social-Platform Rule Was Broken
Check the article against the platform’s rules on impersonation, harassment, or sharing personal information. For photos, inspect whether the article raises a copyright or privacy matter under that platform’s rules.
Report The Social Post Or Plan A Fallback
If a social article breaks a phase rule, study it under that rule. A article that lone criticizes person or contains commentary covered by fair use is much additional difficult to remove. If elimination isn’t an option, scheme to shove it downward in hunt instead.
Step 2f: What To Do About News, Reddit Or Government Pages
News stories, Reddit threads, and authorities pages were the hardest to remove, alongside alongside most assessment sites another than Google.
News links came from 708 outlets, and most outlets remaining the narrative up unless there was a matter logic for elimination or a alter in circumstances since publication. When an outlet did act, it frequently stopped abbreviated of deleting the story. About one in four prosperous news outcomes was a name removal, a photo removal, or de-indexing. It helps to cognize what news outlets volition normally concur to before you ask.
Government websites rarely took item down.
Ask News Outlets For A Name Edit Or De-Indexing
If complete elimination isn’t possible, ask for less. A news location may concur to obtain your name out of a narrative or keep Google from indexing the page. Either alter affects what group see whenever they hunt your name.
Report Reddit Posts That Break Site Rules
Reddit made up 260 links, and threads rarely came down. Moderators eliminate posts that interrupt subreddit or location rules; being unflattering solitary is not a regulation violation. See when a Reddit thread can be removed.
Vet Content-Removal Services: Ask About Sites, Outcomes & Timing
If you favor to employ a provider fairly than grip these requests yourself, ask these four questions.
- Which sites do you get satisfied removed from? A fine answer names sites. Google reviews and court document sites are realistic. Yelp and news sites are lengthy shots, and a provider who says alternatively should explain how.
- Will this be removed, de-indexed, or pushed downward in search? These are distinct results. Full elimination takes the leaf off the web. De-indexing hides it from Google, and pushing it downward lone changes anywhere it ranks.
- What regulation does this satisfied break? If the provider can’t name one, ask how they scheme to get it removed. The FTC regulation bans threats and false accusations aimed at getting reviews taken down.
- How lengthy should this take? For prosperous removals, anticipate weeks for court records and people-search sites. News removals frequently obtain a duration or more.
If you desire a second opinion, dispatch us your links. We’ll inform you which ones are apt to arrive down and how lengthy all should take.
About The 2026 Content-Removal Data
Erase.com analyzed 22,620 of the links sent to us for removal, alongside activity starting between January 1 and September 21, 2026. We counted a nexus as removed if it was taken down, de-indexed, or had the client’s name or photo taken out. Links the client paused or canceled were excluded from outcome comparisons.
This data doesn’t shield all of our work. It excludes activity for clients on subscription and retainer-based elimination plans specified as data agent removals and our copyright takedowns for delicate images, which we run as distinct programs.
One case alongside concerning 3,500 depiction links is part of the 22,620 total, but we remaining it out of the category numbers so it wouldn’t skew them. Timing figures shield 13,482 links removed in that period, including several activity that started in delayed 2025. They are measured from the commencement of activity to the confirmed outcome.
Image Credits
Featured Image: Image by Erase. Used alongside permission.
In-Post Images: Images by Erase. Used alongside permission.
