Google uses automated systems to discover content from the web and other sources. These systems generate search results that provide valuable and reliable responses to billions of searches we process each day.
Given how Search encompasses trillions of web pages, images, videos, and other content, the results might occasionally contain material that some find objectionable, offensive, or problematic.
We’ve carefully developed the content policies for Google Search listed below to balance the real concerns about such issues, alongside the need for a search engine to provide access to information. Our article, Maximize access to information, explains more about this approach.
Overall content policies for Google Search
These policies apply to content that surfaces anywhere within Google Search, which includes web results. Web results are web pages, images, videos, news content, or other material that Google finds from across the web.
Child sexual abuse imagery or exploitation material
We block search results that lead to child sexual abuse imagery or material that appears to victimize, endanger, or otherwise exploit children. Learn how to report child sexual abuse imagery.
Google might remove certain personal information that creates significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, or other specific harms, which include, but aren’t limited to, doxxing content, explicit personal images, and involuntary fake pornography. Learn how to remove your personal information from Google.
We take action against spam, which is content that exhibits deceptive or manipulative behavior designed to deceive users or game our search systems. Learn more about Google Search Webmaster Guidelines.
Webmaster & site owner requests
Upon request, we remove content that webmasters or site owners wish to block from our web results. Learn how to block access to your content and how to remove information from Google.
We remove content or features from our Search results for legal reasons. For example, we remove content if we receive valid notification under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We also remove content from local versions of Google, consistent with local law, when we’re notified that content is an issue. For example, we remove content that illegally glorifies the Nazi party from our German service, or that unlawfully insults religion from our Indian service. We delist pages on name queries, based on data-protection requests, under what’s commonly known as the “Right to be Forgotten” in the EU. We scrutinize these requests to ensure that they’re well-founded, and we frequently refuse to remove content when there’s no clear basis in law.
When possible, we display a notification that results have been removed and report these removals to Lumen Database, a project run by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which tracks online restrictions on speech. We also disclose certain details about legal removals from our Search results through our Transparency Report. Learn how to make a Legal Removals Request.
Search features policies
These policies apply to many of our search features. Even though these features and the content within them are automatically generated as with web results, how they’re presented might be interpreted as having greater quality or credibility than web results. We also don’t want predictive or refinement features to unexpectedly shock or offend people. Search features covered by these policies include panels, carousels, enhancements to web listings (such as through structured data), predictive and refinement features, and results and features spoken aloud. These policies don’t apply to web results.
We don’t allow content that primarily advertises products or services, which includes direct calls to purchase, links to other websites, company contact information, and other promotional tactics. We don’t allow sponsored content that’s concealed or misrepresented as independent content.
We don’t allow content that could directly facilitate serious and immediate harm to people or animals. This includes, but isn’t limited to, dangerous goods, services or activities, and self-harm, such as mutilation, eating disorders, or drug abuse.
We don’t allow content that impersonates any person or organization, misrepresentation or concealment of ownership or primary purpose, and engagement in inauthentic or coordinated behavior to deceive, defraud, or mislead. This includes, but isn’t limited to, the misrepresentation or concealment of country of origin or directing content at users in another country under false premises, and working together in ways that conceal or misrepresent information about relationships or editorial independence. This policy doesn’t cover content with certain artistic, educational, historical, documentary, or scientific considerations, or other substantial benefits to the public.
We don’t allow harassment, bullying, or threatening content. This includes, but isn’t limited to, content that might:
- Single someone out for malicious abuse.
- Threaten someone with serious harm.
- Sexualize someone in an unwanted way.
- Expose private information of someone that could be used to carry out threats.
- Disparaging or belittling victims of violence or tragedy.
- Deny an atrocity.
- Cause harassment in other ways.
We don’t allow content that promotes or condones violence, promotes discrimination, disparages or has the primary purpose of inciting hatred against a group. This includes, but isn’t limited to, targeting on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or any other characteristic that’s associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization (like refugee status, immigration status, caste, the impoverished, and the homeless).
We don’t allow audio, video, or image content that’s been manipulated to deceive, defraud, or mislead by means of creating a representation of actions or events that verifiably didn’t take place. This includes if such content would cause a reasonable person to have a fundamentally different understanding or impression, such that it might cause significant harm to groups or individuals, or significantly undermine participation or trust in electoral or civic processes.
We don’t allow content that contradicts or runs contrary to a scientific or medical consensus and evidence-based best practices.
We don’t allow content that primarily facilitates the promotion or sale of regulated goods and services such as alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals, unapproved supplements, tobacco, fireworks, weapons, or health and medical devices.
We don’t allow content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Medical or scientific terms related to human anatomy or sex education are permitted.
We don’t allow content that promotes terrorist or extremist acts, which includes recruitment, inciting violence, or the celebration of terrorist attacks.
We don’t allow violent or gory content that’s primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous.
We don’t allow obscenities or profanities that are primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous.
