Yahoo Right to be Forgotten UK, practical guide to blocking search results for your name
Last reviewed: 5 September 2025
Quick answer
- Scope, UK and EU only: You can ask Yahoo to block results for searches of your name where data is inaccurate, inadequate, no longer relevant or excessive. Content on the source site usually remains live.
- What Yahoo checks: The criteria above and a public interest balance.
- What you must provide: Exact URLs, your full legal name as the search term, proof of identity and residency, and clear reasons with evidence.
- How to apply: Use Yahoo’s dereferencing help for UK and European residents, then submit the online form.
- If refused: You can contact the ICO in the UK. Include Yahoo’s decision and your original request.
1. What the law says, statute first
Article 17 of the UK GDPR, and the equivalent Article 17 of the EU GDPR, gives individuals the right to request erasure of personal data in defined circumstances. Search engine blocking or dereferencing is one way this right operates, subject to a public interest balance. Read the legal text here:
The Court of Justice recognised and defined search engine delisting in Google Spain (C-131/12) and later confirmed that global delisting is not required in Google v CNIL (C-507/17). Read the judgments:
2. How Yahoo applies RTBF in the UK and EU
Yahoo explains that European residents can request that certain URLs be dereferenced against a Yahoo Search for their name, and that Yahoo Search uses search partners. Blocking a result on Yahoo does not remove or change the content on the original website. Start here:
3. ICO guidance you should know
The UK Information Commissioner explains when search results may be delisted, and how to escalate if your request is refused. Read more:
The ICO notes that some RTBF guidance is under review following the Data, Use and Access Act from 19 June 2025. Check the current pages above before you submit.
4. Prepare a strong Yahoo request
- Exact URLs: list the full links, one per line. Keep each submission to one topic.
- Your search term: use your full legal name. Yahoo indicates that if a request uses words other than your full name, URLs may be invalid.
- Identity and residency: provide ID and confirm where you live.
- Short reasons with evidence: explain inaccuracies, outdated context, disproportionate impact, or other Article 17 grounds and attach proof where possible.
- If you control the site: use a robots rule or meta tags to remove your own pages from Yahoo’s index.
5. Submit your request to Yahoo
Use Yahoo’s dereferencing help for European and UK residents, then complete the online form linked within that help.
For personal information like phone numbers and addresses on third party websites, use Yahoo’s personal information route and contact the publisher for removal at source.
6. What Yahoo considers when deciding
- Whether the information is inaccurate, inadequate, no longer relevant or excessive in the context of a name search.
- Public interest, for example professional misconduct, public office or risks to consumers.
- Whether the URLs and the search name genuinely point to the person making the request.
- Whether the request is complete with proper URLs, identification and reasons.
Yahoo balances privacy against freedom of expression and availability of information. See legal and help pages linked above, and EDPB criteria for search engines.
7. Outcomes, what to expect
- Blocked for your name query in the UK and EU: results will no longer appear for your name where blocking applies on Yahoo Search. The content usually remains on the original website.
- Partial approvals: some URLs may be blocked while others remain. You can strengthen your evidence and resubmit.
- Refusals: Yahoo explains its decision. You can contact the ICO with your paperwork.
8. Step by step, my recommended Yahoo flow
- List every URL and confirm the search term that surfaces it in the UK.
- Gather evidence, corrections and context such as court outcomes or updated facts.
- Choose the correct route, dereferencing for name searches, publisher takedown for source removal, and robots or noindex only if you control the site.
- Submit via Yahoo’s dereferencing help using
