Google has officially discontinued its Dark Web Report, the tool that alerted users when their personal information appeared in dark web breach databases. New scans stop on January 15, 2026, and on February 16, 2026, Google will permanently delete all data associated with the feature.
This does not mean Google.com or Google Accounts are going away. It means Google is no longer scanning the dark web for leaked data tied to your account, and it is no longer storing or updating any breach information that was collected for the report.
For people who relied on Google’s alerts, this change creates a real gap. After January 16, you will no longer get new notifications if your information shows up in breach databases. That is why it is worth taking a few minutes now to lock down the basics.
According to reporting from TechCrunch, Google said it ended the service after concluding that it did not give users enough clarity about what to do once their data was found.
That decision highlights a much larger shift in online security: Finding leaked data is no longer enough. Protecting identity is now the real challenge.
What did Google’s Dark Web Report do?
The Dark Web Report was a Google Account feature that searched known data breach dumps and dark web marketplaces for personal information tied to a user, such as email addresses, phone numbers, and other identifiers.
If Google found a match, it sent an alert.
What it did not do was show which accounts were at risk, whether financial or government ID data was involved, or how to prevent fraud from happening next. That gap is why some users said the tool fell short.
What is the dark web, and why does stolen data end up there?
The internet has three layers:
- The surface web is what search engines index.
- The deep web includes anything behind a login, like email, banking, and medical portals.
- The dark web is a hidden part of the deep web that is not indexed by search engines and is accessed through specialized networks or browsers like Tor.
The dark web is where data from breaches is commonly sold, traded, and packaged for scams. When a company is hacked, stolen files often end up in dark web databases that include email addresses, passwords, Social Security numbers, bank details, and full identity profiles.
Scammers use this data to commit account takeovers, financial fraud, tax fraud, and identity theft.
Even without passwords, this personal information can be enough for scammers to target you with convincing phishing and social engineering scams.
How to check if your personal information is on the dark web:
Looking up an email address is no longer enough. Modern identity theft relies on things like Social Security numbers, government IDs, bank and credit card numbers, tax records, insurance data, usernames, and phone numbers.
To understand whether any of that is exposed, people need to monitor the dark web for identity-level data, not just logins.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Scan breach databases for government ID numbers and financial data
- Look for full identity profiles being sold or traded
- Match leaked records back to real people
Tools like McAfee’s Identity Monitoring are designed to look for those types of data so you can act before fraud happens.
Have 30 minutes right now? Do this:
Been meaning to bolster your security? Here are three quick ways you can enhance your identity protection and reduce real-world damage in a breach:
Freeze your credit
Estimated time: 10 minutes
This is a powerful free protection option that many forget about. A credit freeze blocks anyone from opening new loans, credit cards, or accounts in your name, even if they have your Social Security number and full identity profile.
You can do this for free with any of the major credit bureaus. If you do it with one, the others are notified.
Why this matters: Most identity theft today is not account hacking. It is criminals opening accounts in your name. A credit freeze stops that cold.
Set up fraud and login alerts on your financial accounts
Estimated time: 10 minutes
Go into your main bank and credit card apps and turn on:
- Login alerts
- Transaction alerts
- Password or profile change alerts
- These are not the same as marketing notifications. They tell you when someone is trying to access or move money.
You’ll find these somewhere under Settings>Alerts.
Why this matters: Identity thieves often test stolen data with small charges or login attempts before stealing larger amounts. These alerts are how you catch it early.
Lock down account recovery paths
Estimated time: 10 minutes
This is one of the most overlooked vulnerabilities.
Go into:
- Your email account
- Your Apple ID or Google account
Check and update:
- Recovery email
- Recovery phone number
- Backup codes
- Trusted devices
Remove anything you do not recognize.
Why this matters: Even if you change your password, attackers can still take over accounts through recovery systems if those are compromised. This closes that back door.
FAQ:
| Is Google deleting my Google Account data? No. Google is only deleting the data it collected specifically for the Dark Web Report feature. Your Gmail, Drive, Photos, and other Google Account data are not affected. |
| Is Google still protecting my account from hackers? Yes. Google continues to offer security features like two-factor authentication, login alerts, and account recovery tools. What it removed is the dark web scanning and alert system tied to breach data. |
| Does the dark web report website still exist? No. After February 16, 2026, Google no longer operates or updates the Dark Web Report feature. There is no active scanning, no dashboard, and no stored breach data tied to it. |
| Does this mean dark web monitoring is useless? No. It means email-only monitoring is not enough. Criminals use far more than emails to commit fraud, which is why identity-level monitoring is now more important. |
| What kind of information is most dangerous if it appears on the dark web? Social Security numbers, government IDs, bank and credit card numbers, tax records, insurance IDs, usernames, and phone numbers are the data types most commonly used for identity theft and financial fraud. |
| How can I check if my information is exposed right now? You can use an identity monitoring service like McAfee that scans dark web sources for sensitive personal data, not just email addresses. That is how people can see whether their identity is being traded or abused today. |
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