Google notified users in an email today that, beginning next month, it will stop sending its dark web reports, an opt-in feature that alerted users when Google detected their personal information on the dark web, as reported by 9to5Google. On January 15th, Google will stop scanning for that data, like contact info and home addresses, and any data it collected so far will no longer be available to users starting on February 16th.
The email sent to users who were signed up for the feature explains, “While the report offered general information, feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps. We’re making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your …
Google notified users in an email today that, beginning next month, it will stop sending its dark web reports, an opt-in feature that alerted users when Google detected their personal information on the dark web, as reported by 9to5Google. On January 15th, Google will stop scanning for that data, like contact info and home addresses, and any data it collected so far will no longer be available to users starting on February 16th.
The email sent to users who were signed up for the feature explains, “While the report offered general information, feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps. We’re making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your information online.”
Dark web reports were initially launched as a perk for Google One subscribers in 2023, then expanded to all Google account users in 2024, when it was also moved to Google’s “results about you” page. The feature was only widely available for a little over a year before this shutdown. Google’s email to users receiving the dark web reports suggests using the “results about you” page and Google’s Security Checkup feature instead. Of course, there are also plenty of other services, like Have I Been Pwned, that will monitor the dark web for results containing your data.
Google’s full email to dark web report users:
We are discontinuing the dark web report, which was meant to scan the dark web for your personal information. It will stop monitoring for new results on January 15, 2026 and its data will no longer be available from February 16, 2026. While the report offered general information, feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps. We’re making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your information online. We will continue to track and defend you from online threats, including the dark web, and build tools that help protect you and your personal information.
On February 16, 2026 the report will no longer be available and all related data will be removed. If you wish to remove your monitoring profile earlier, you can learn how to do so here.
In the meantime, we encourage you to use the existing tools we offer to strengthen your security and privacy, including Security and Privacy Checkups, Passkey, 2-Step Verification, Google Password Manager, and Password Checkup. We encourage you to also use Results about you, which can be used to find and request the removal of your personal information from Google Search results, like your phone number and home address. Generally, we’ll continue to offer tips and tools to help you stay safe online.
Thank you, The Google team
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- Stevie Bonifield