If you are named on this site and you would rather not be, write to [email protected] and say so. You do not have to give a reason.
Who we remove on request
We take a page down on request from the person it is about, or from an immediate family member acting on their behalf, in every case where the subject is a private individual — which is nearly everyone on this site. We do not ask you to justify it and we do not negotiate.
Where the subject of a page is themselves a public figure — an elected official, a performer, a business leader with a public role — we will consider the request but may keep the page, because reporting on people who hold public positions is a different matter. If we keep a page in that situation, we will tell you why and we will correct anything in it you say is wrong.
What removal actually does
A removed page stops being served, is taken out of our sitemap, is marked so that search engines drop it, and is taken out of every list and link on this site. We also ask Google and Bing to drop the URL immediately rather than waiting for them to notice.
We cannot remove copies of a page held by other sites, search engine caches we do not control, or the Internet Archive. If that matters to you, say so and we will tell you what we know about where else it has been picked up.
How long it takes
We aim to remove within three working days of the request. If the request concerns a minor, a safety issue, or anything about health, sexuality or a criminal matter, we remove the page first and reply afterwards.