Google has announced the discontinuation of its Dark Web Report feature, a tool designed to alert users when their personal information appears on the dark web following data breaches. The service, which scanned for details such as email addresses, phone numbers, names, addresses, and even Social Security numbers in illicit databases, will cease operations in phases next year.
Scanning for new dark web data will stop on January 15, 2026, with the feature fully shutting down on February 16, 2026. At that point, all associated user data will be permanently deleted from Google’s servers. Users enrolled in the monitoring can manually delete their profiles earlier via account settings by navigating to the Dark Web Report page, editing the monitoring profile, and selecting “Delete monitoring profile.”
Launched in March 2023 initially for Google One subscribers and expanded to all Google account holders in July 2024, the tool aimed to help users track their digital footprints amid rising identity theft risks. However, Google cited user feedback indicating that the reports provided general information but “did not provide helpful next steps” for remediation.
In a statement, the company explained: “We’re making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your information online. We’ll continue to track and defend you from online threats, including the dark web.”
Google is directing users to alternative security features, including Security Checkup, Passkeys, Password Manager, two-step verification, Google Authenticator, and “Results about you” for removing personal info from search results. While the explicit dark web alerts end, Google assures continued behind-the-scenes protection against such threats.
The move reflects Google’s ongoing efforts to prioritize practical privacy tools over informational alerts in an era of frequent data leaks.