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In 2023, a service designed to track leaked personal data was launched but will be discontinued early next year. Google is planning to retire its Dark Web Report tool, which was created to notify users when their personal information appears in illicit data dumps on the dark web.
Google announced that the dark web data scanning feature will cease on January 15, 2026, with complete shutdown scheduled for February 16, 2026. All user data associated with this service will be permanently deleted from Google’s servers.
The Dark Web Report was introduced in March 2023 as part of Google’s initiative to help users monitor their online footprints. It scanned for email addresses and other personal details such as names, phone numbers, and addresses to see if they appeared in known data breaches or dark web listings, alerting users if matches were found.
In an email, Google stated, “While the report offered general information, feedback indicated it didn’t provide helpful next steps. We’re making this change to focus on tools that deliver clearer, actionable steps to protect your information online. We will continue to monitor and defend against online threats, including those on the dark web, and develop tools to safeguard you and your personal data.”
Although the Dark Web Report service is ending, Google reassures users that efforts to protect their information will continue behind the scenes. The company recommends leveraging other security tools, such as Security Checkup, Passkeys, Password Manager, two-step verification, and Google Authenticator, to enhance account security. Additionally, features like “Results about you” assist users in locating and sometimes removing personal information from search results.
Existing users of dark web monitoring are informed via email and support pages that access will end after the service shutdown. Users who wish to remove their monitoring profiles sooner can do so through their account settings by navigating to the Dark Web Report page, selecting “Edit monitoring profile,” and then “Delete monitoring profile.”
To manually delete your dark web monitoring profile early, go to your account, click on the Dark Web Report page, select “Edit monitoring profile,” and then choose “Delete monitoring profile.”
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