Summary
- The “Dark web report” feature will be removed from Google One in late July and will be integrated into the “Results about you” section of the Google app.
- Once integrated, dark web monitoring will be available to all Google account holders without needing a Google One membership.
- Currently, this feature is available in 46 countries, including the US and UK.
If you’re a Google One subscriber in the US, you get access to the “Dark web report” feature to scan the dark web for personal info like email, address, SSN, phone number, and birthdate. If Google finds any of this info during a scan, you’ll receive a notification with advice on what to do next. This is similar to a feature Google offers everyone that alerts you if your personal info pops up in search results. However, the Google One version dives much deeper. Right now, the dark web report is exclusive to One subscribers, but it’s set to roll out to all Google account holders soon.
As spotted by 9to5Google, a recent banner on the Google One app announced that the Dark web report feature will be removed in late July, following the end of the paid VPN service last month as Google focused on integrating native VPN functionality into its latest Pixel 7, Pixel Fold, and Pixel 8 smartphones, along with VPNs from Google Fi mobile plans. Furthermore, a support page reveals that the tool will be merged into the “Results about you” section of the Google app. This change means that dark web monitoring will soon be available to all Google account holders.
To be clear, the feature is not going away; Google is just moving it to make it available to more users. The “Results about you” feature will alert you if your personal info—like your name, address, or phone number—shows up in search results. Although Google aims to help clean up personal info from search results, it can’t directly delete it from third-party websites.
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Open to all, no hoops to jump through
The support page also confirms that once the dark web monitoring tool is integrated into the “Results about you” section later this month, a Google One membership will no longer be needed. Users can access these reports without downloading an app or logging in separately. Currently, the feature is available in 46 countries, including the US and the UK.
While Google trims down its paid services, it’s refreshing to see it hasn’t forgotten about user security. By folding dark web reports into the “Results about you” section, it’s upping the ante on data protection. And if you’re not into it, no worries—you can easily opt out by deleting your monitoring profile in the Dark web report dashboard.
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