Written by the Removal Lab team.
The quick version
- Check the live page first. The page or image must be gone, or the words you want gone must be off the page.
- Open Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool and sign in to any Google account.
- In Google Search, right click the old result and choose Copy link address.
- Select New request, choose Page or Image, paste the link and select Submit. If Google asks, add one or two words from the old snippet that are no longer on the live page.
- Watch the status in the queue at the bottom of the tool. If the page is still live and still hurting you, Removal Lab can check the other routes for free.
Has a website already deleted that old article about you, yet Google still shows the snippet every time someone searches your name? You can remove outdated content from Google with its Refresh Outdated Content tool, as long as the page is gone or the text has changed. Removal Lab put this guide together from Google’s own help pages so you know exactly when the tool works, how to use it and why Google says no.
The route Google offers to remove outdated content from Google is narrow by design. It does not judge whether content is fair or true. It only asks one question: does Google’s copy still match the live page? If the answer is no, Google can catch up.
When you can remove outdated content from Google with this tool
Google built the Refresh Outdated Content tool so people can remove outdated content from Google when a page or image no longer exists, or when a page has deleted important content. It updates Google Search only. It does not take anything off the web.
Google is also clear about who should use it. If you do not own the page, this is your tool. If you are a verified owner of the site in Search Console, Google sends you to the Removals tool instead.
| Use the tool when | Do not use the tool when |
|---|---|
| You do not own the page | You are a verified owner of the site in Search Console |
| The page or image no longer exists | The information is still on the live page |
| The page is significantly different from what Google shows | You only want Google to recrawl a page that has not changed |
| The site removed sensitive or critical content | The information is wrong, illegal or harmful but still online |
| You want Google’s snippet to match the live page | You want the page taken off the web |
That last row matters. If a page is still live and says something harmful, the Refresh Outdated Content tool will not help. You would need the site to change it first, or a policy or legal route covered in our guide to a Google legal removal request.
Refresh Outdated Content tool vs the Removals tool in Search Console
Google runs two tools with similar names. They are not the same thing. The Refresh Outdated Content tool is open to anyone. The Removals tool is only for people who own the site. Pick the wrong one and you lose days.
| Refresh Outdated Content tool | Removals tool in Search Console | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Anyone signed in to a Google account. Google says you do not need to own the website. | Only site owners. Google says you must own the property in Search Console to use it. |
| When it works | Only when the page or image no longer exists or has been updated. Google says it will not remove a page or image that still exists and has not changed. | Even while the page is still live. It hides the URL from Google Search results. |
| What it changes | A page that is gone drops out of results. A changed page loses its old snippet until Google crawls it again. | Temporarily remove URL hides a URL and clears its snippet. Clear snippet in search clears the description until the page is indexed again. |
| How long it lasts | An approved request expires 180 days after approval or when the URL no longer exists. | About six months. Google’s own comparison of the two tools puts it at 180 days. |
| What makes it stick | The page staying changed or gone. Google says a refresh can succeed only when the content is changed or no longer available. | A fix on the site. Google tells owners to remove or update the content, block access to it or mark the page so it is not indexed. |
| Where you track it | The queue at the bottom of the tool. | The Temporary Removals tab. Refresh requests filed by other people show in the Outdated content tab. |
So if you run the site, use the Removals tool and fix the page itself. If someone else runs it, ask them to change the page first. Then use the refresh tool. Neither tool removes anything from the web.
How to remove outdated content from Google step by step
Google publishes two short flows to remove outdated content from Google, one for pages and one for images. Here they are with the exact labels Google uses.
For a web page
- Open the Refresh Outdated Content tool. You must be signed in to a Google account.
- Select Request refresh or New request and stay on the Page tab.
- Paste the URL of the page that still shows outdated content.
- Select Submit.
- If the page still exists at that URL, Google asks for more information. Enter one or two words that appeared in the search result snippet but are no longer on the live page.
- Your request appears in the queue at the bottom of the tool. If it is denied, a link explains why.
Getting the URL right
Most failed attempts to remove outdated content from Google come down to the wrong URL. Google’s advice is specific. Find the page in a Google result, hover over the link, right click and select Copy link address. Do not copy the link text you can see and do not click through and copy the address from your browser bar.
Pages often live at more than one URL, for example with tracking codes or session IDs on the end. Google says to submit a separate request for each URL that shows the content.
For an image
- Search for the image on Google and open the Images tab.
- Right click the thumbnail without opening it and choose Copy link address, not Copy image address. Google says this address starts with google.com/imgres.
- In the tool select New request, then Image.
- Paste the address into the Copy link box and select Submit.
- If you use Google’s longer method instead, paste the image address into Image URL and the page address into Containing page URL.
An image can sit on several pages. Google asks for a separate request for each page where the image appears.
How to remove an outdated image from Google
Old photos are stubborn. A site swaps a picture or deletes a gallery, yet the image still sits in Google Images. The steps above fix that, but only in the right situation. Here is how to pick your route.
| Your situation | What Google offers | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The image was deleted from the page, or the page is gone | The refresh tool, using the Image option | Copy the link address from the thumbnail in Google Images. File one request for each page where the image appeared. |
| The image is still live on the page | Nothing through this tool. Google says it will not remove an image that still exists and has not changed. | Ask the site owner to take it down first. Then file the request. |
| The image is on your own site | The Removals tool for a quick temporary block | Use Search Console as the owner. Remove the image from the site too, so it does not return when the block ends after about six months. |
| The image shows your ID or signature, intimate content shared without consent or a child under 18 | Separate personal content removal routes in Google Search Help | These routes deal with Google Search results, so the image can still be online when you ask. See our guide to removing images from Google. |
One small check saves a wasted request. Right click the thumbnail without opening it. The link you copy should start with google.com/imgres. If it starts with anything else, you copied the wrong address and Google may deny the request for an incorrect URL format.
What each request status means
Every request sits in a queue at the bottom of the tool. Google gives each one a status. Here is what each label means and what to do next.
| Status | What Google says it means | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The request is being processed. Google says this can take a few days. | Wait. Sending the same URL again only earns a Duplicate request denial. |
| Approved | The update was approved and should be live in Google Search results. | Search again in a private window. If the old text still shows, check the result URL matches yours exactly, capital letters included. |
| Denied | The request was denied. A link next to it explains why. | Open the reason. Most denials are fixed at the source. Then you file again. |
| Expired | The request was approved but has expired, either 180 days after approval or when the URL no longer exists. | Check the live page. If the old content is back, ask the site to remove it before you file again. |
| Cancelled | The request was cancelled by the person who made it or by a verified site owner. | If you did not cancel it, check the live page. If the content is still gone you can file a fresh request. |
Site owners see the same requests from the other side. In the Outdated content tab of the Removals tool, Google calls them Outdated snippet removal when the page still exists but some content has been removed. It calls them Outdated page removal when the page no longer exists. Their statuses read like Approved, Denied: Content still on page or Denied: Outdated content not in index. If you have seen one of those labels quoted somewhere, this is where it comes from.
An approval to remove outdated content from Google does two different things depending on the page. If the page is no longer available, it stops appearing in Search results. If the page is still live but changed, Google removes the old snippet. The page is then refreshed the next time Google’s crawler visits. It can still appear in results until then.
Why Google denies requests to remove outdated content from Google
Google publishes six reasons it refuses requests to remove outdated content from Google. Knowing them saves you a wasted request.
| Denial reason | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Outdated content not in index | Google’s copy no longer holds the content. | Nothing. It is already gone from Search. |
| Page not indexed | The page does not appear in Google’s results at all. | Nothing. Check you searched the right URL. |
| Content still on page | The words are still on the live page. | Ask the site owner to remove them, then submit again. |
| Duplicate request | A request for this URL is still in progress. | Wait for the first request to finish. |
| Incorrect URL format | The URL was entered in the wrong format. | Copy the link address again from the result and resubmit. |
| Unspecified | Google has no more details to share. | Google suggests asking in the Search Console help community. |
Content still on page is the one to watch for. The tool cannot win an argument with a live website. It can only remove outdated content from Google once the website itself has moved on.
Denied: outdated content not in index. What it means and what to do
This is the denial that confuses people most. It sounds like a failure. Often it is good news.
In Search Console Help, Google puts it this way: the content you flagged as outdated is not in the version of the page that Google has indexed. Its page on denials adds that the content is already gone from the index and from search results, so no action is needed.
Put simply, Google already holds a newer copy of the page. The words you typed are not in it. There is nothing left for the tool to clear.
What to do next
- Search again in a private window. Use the same search that showed the old result. If the old words have gone from the snippet, you are done.
- Check the words you entered. Google asks for one or two words that appeared in the snippet but are no longer on the live page. Copy them from the snippet you can see, not from memory. If you typed words Google never stored, it has nothing to match.
- Check the URL. The same content can sit at more than one URL. If the old snippet still shows, it may belong to another address. Copy the link address from that exact result and file a new request for it.
- Do not mix it up with Page not indexed. That denial means the URL is not in Google’s results at all. Outdated content not in index means Google has the page but not the old words.
- Still see the old text on the live page? Then the problem is the website, not Google. Read what to do when the page is still live below.
A close cousin is Denied: Page not removed. Google uses it when a page someone flagged as removed still exists. The fix is the same: the page has to change or go first.
What if it does not work
- Search again with the exact URL. When you try to remove outdated content from Google, a single character can matter. Google says that if an approved request still shows old content, check the URL in the result matches the one you sent, including capital letters. If it differs, send a new request for that URL.
- Wait for the crawl. For a changed page, Google refreshes it the next time its crawler visits. Until then the page can still appear in results.
- Go back to the site owner. If the denial says the content is still on the page, the only fix is at the source. Our guide on removing personal information from Google covers what to send.
- Switch tools. Contact details belong in Google Results about you. Defamation, court orders and copyright go through Google Legal Help. In Europe and the UK, an old but accurate page may qualify for right to be forgotten delisting.
- Mind the 180 days. If the URL comes back after an approval expires, check whether the old content has returned to the page before you file again.
Why the old result came back
You got an Approved status. A few weeks later the old result is back. It happens. Google’s help pages explain most of the reasons.
| What happened | What Google says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The request expired | An approved request expires 180 days after approval or when the URL no longer exists. | Check the live page. If the old content is still gone, file a new request. |
| The page changed back | A refresh can succeed only when the content is changed or no longer available. | If the site put the old text back, a refresh cannot help. Go back to the site owner. |
| The same content sits at another URL | Pages can show under more than one URL. Google asks for a separate request for each one and says the URL must match exactly, including capital letters. | Copy the link address from the result you see now and file for that URL. |
| The site owner only hid the page | A temporary block in the Removals tool lasts about six months. After that the page can show in results again. | Ask the owner to remove the page, block access to it or stop it being indexed. Google lists these as the permanent fixes. |
| The request was cancelled | Google says a request can be cancelled by the person who made it or by a verified site owner. | Look at the status in your queue. If it shows Cancelled, check the live page and file again if the content is still gone. |
Keep a note of when each request was approved. It makes the 180 day check easy.
When the page is still live: what to do instead
The Refresh Outdated Content tool only helps once the website has changed. If the page is still up and still says the thing you want gone, you need a different route. Google offers several. Each one covers a narrow set of cases.
| What the live page shows | The Google route | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| Your home address, phone number or email | Results about you, which Google points to for contact details | How to use Google Results about you |
| Government ID numbers, bank or card numbers, pictures of your signature or ID, medical records or confidential passwords | Google’s request to remove personal information from Search | Remove personal information from Google |
| Content that must come down under the law, such as copyright or certain trademark issues | Request removal for legal reasons | Google legal removal requests |
| Content about you on a site that charges people to remove it | Google’s route for sites with exploitative removal practices | Google search result removal |
| An old news story that is still online | Start with the publisher. Google Search only changes once the article changes or a Google policy applies. | News article removal |
Google is clear on one point across these pages. Removing a result from Google Search does not remove the page from the internet. People can still reach it through links, social media or other search engines. That is why the best fix usually starts at the source.
Not sure which route fits? Our guide on how to remove your name from Google walks through the options. Or send the link for a free case review. A specialist reads it against Google’s rules and replies within one business day. No upfront payment on qualifying cases.
Mistakes to avoid
- Trying to remove outdated content from Google while the content is still live. The request will be denied.
- Copying the URL from your browser bar after clicking through. Copy the link address from the result instead.
- Sending one request for a page that lives at several URLs.
- Using the tool on your own site. Verified owners should use the Removals tool in Search Console.
- Expecting the tool to judge truth. It only compares Google’s copy with the live page.
- Filing a second request while the first is Pending. Google treats it as a duplicate.
A worked example
This is a made up example to show the steps. It is not a client case.
Tom ran a café that closed three years ago. A local listings site had published his old mobile number next to his name. He asked the site to remove the number and it agreed. The page stayed live with the café’s details but without the number. Google’s snippet still showed the number weeks later.
To remove outdated content from Google, Tom searched his name, right clicked the listings result and chose Copy link address. He opened the Refresh Outdated Content tool, selected New request and Page, pasted the URL and selected Submit. Because the page still existed, Google asked for words from the old snippet. He entered the first part of the old number. The request showed Pending, then Approved. Google removed the outdated snippet and refreshed the page on its next crawl. He noted the date so he could check again before the 180 day expiry.
A quick test before you file
Open the live page in a private browser window and search it for the words you want gone. If you can still find them, Google will too. The request would be denied for content still on page.
Where Removal Lab fits
If the website has already done its part, you can remove outdated content from Google yourself and you should. Where people come to us is the step before they can remove outdated content from Google: a site that will not reply, a page that is still live or a result that needs a different Google policy.
Our Google search result removal service checks each result against Google’s published rules and files through the right channel. For old news coverage, see our news article removal page. For complaint sites that keep old posts alive, see complaint site removal. Our how it works page explains the process and what we cannot remove sets out the limits honestly.
How Removal Lab works
- Send the link. WhatsApp, email or the two field form. Two minutes, no long questionnaire.
- Free policy check. A specialist reads it against the platform rules and tells you honestly whether it qualifies.
- We build and file the case. The right policy, the right channel, the evidence attached. We handle the appeal too.
- Pay only when it is gone. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. If the platform says no, you owe nothing.
What we will never do
- Promise a removal. The platform decides, not us.
- Post fake reviews or pay anyone to delete a review.
- Pressure, threaten or try to identify a reviewer.
- Charge an upfront fee on a case that does not qualify.
Old content still showing after the site changed it?
Send the link. A specialist checks what Google needs and replies within one business day. No upfront payment on qualifying cases.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone remove outdated content from Google?
Yes, if the page is not yours. Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool is for people who do not own the page. It works only when the page or image is gone or the content has changed. Verified site owners use the Removals tool in Search Console instead.
Does the Refresh Outdated Content tool delete the page?
No. When you remove outdated content from Google, only Google Search changes. The page itself stays on the web until the site owner changes or deletes it.
How long does a refresh request take?
Google says a Pending request can take a few days to process. It does not publish a fixed timeline for a decision.
Why was my refresh request denied?
Google lists six reasons: the outdated content is not in its index, the page is not indexed, the content is still on the live page, a request for the URL is already in progress, the URL was in the wrong format or no reason was given. Each denial links to its reason.
How long does an approved refresh last?
Google says an approved request expires 180 days after approval or when the URL no longer exists. After that the status shows Expired.
Can I use the tool to remove false or harmful content?
No. Google says not to use the Refresh Outdated Content tool when information is wrong, illegal or harmful. Those cases need a policy or legal request instead.
What does Denied: outdated content not in index mean?
It means the words you flagged are not in Google’s indexed copy of the page, so Google sees nothing to remove. Google says no action is needed. If the old text still shows, copy the exact URL from that result and file a new request for it.
Is the Refresh Outdated Content tool the same as the Removals tool?
No. Anyone with a Google account can use the Refresh Outdated Content tool once a page or image has gone or changed. The Removals tool is only for owners of the site in Search Console and hides a URL for about six months.
Sources: Search Console Help: Refresh Outdated Content tool, Google Search Help: Refresh outdated content, Search Console Help: Denials for refresh outdated content requests, Search Console Help: Removals and SafeSearch reports tool, Google Search Central: Remove information from Google, Google Search Help: Remove personal information from Google Search and Google Search Help: Remove your personal information from Google. Removal Lab does not work for Google. Every decision is made by the platform.