Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
New Delhi: Google is quietly switching off one of its newer privacy tools, and many users may not even notice until it is gone. The company has confirmed that its Dark web report feature will be discontinued in early 2026, barely two years after it first appeared as a way to warn people if their personal data showed up in shady corners of the internet.
I remember when this tool launched in 2023. Back then, dark web monitoring felt like something only banks or hardcore security pros talked about. Suddenly, Google was telling regular users, even my uncle who still forgets his Gmail password, that they could track leaked emails and phone numbers. That experiment is now coming to an end.
Google says scans for new dark web breaches will stop on January 15, 2026. The feature itself will be fully retired on February 16, 2026.
In a support document explaining the decision, Google said, “While the report offered general information, feedback showed that it didn't provide helpful next steps.” The company added, “We're making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your information online.”
In simple words, users could see that their data was leaked, but many did not know what to do next. From Google’s point of view, that made the tool less useful than expected.
Google launched the Dark web report in March 2023. The idea was straightforward. Google would scan parts of the dark web and alert users if their personal details appeared there.
The information tracked included things most of us worry about after a breach.
It was meant to fight identity fraud linked to data breaches. In July 2024, Google expanded the feature to all Google account holders. Before that, it was limited to Google One subscribers.
Here is a simple timeline of what Google has announced.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Dark web breach scans stop | January 15, 2026 |
| Dark web report fully retired | February 16, 2026 |
| User data deleted by Google | After February 2026 |
Google says all data linked to the Dark web report will be deleted once the feature is retired.
Google is also giving users a way to delete their dark web monitoring profile before February 2026. The steps are basic and can be done in a minute.
This matters for users who do not want their monitoring data stored until the shutdown date.
Google’s explanation is blunt. People saw alerts but felt stuck.
The support document states clearly that feedback showed the tool “didn't provide helpful next steps.” In cybersecurity terms, alerts without action can lead to panic or fatigue. You know something bad happened, but you do not know where to start.
Google is now nudging users toward other security tools it already offers.
The company is urging people to:
These steps are more direct. A passkey can block phishing attacks outright. Removing search results reduces exposure, even if leaked data exists elsewhere.
