Here's How To Use Google To See If You're Famous

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Earlier this summer, Google started complying with the European Union's controversial "right to be forgotten" ruling, which lets individuals remove search results about them from Google.

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As Stewart Baker from the Steptoe Cyberblog points out, Google's method of adhering to the ruling gives you a quick way to find out whether or not Google thinks of you as a public figure.

Here's how it works:

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Because Google is trying to stay transparent, you'll see the following message when you search for anyone's name using a European top-level domain (like google.co.uk):

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However, you won't see this message if you search the name of a public figure because Google won't remove search results for famous people.

As Google put it, "Most name queries are for famous people and such searches are very rarely affected by a removal, due to the role played by these persons in public life, we have made a pragmatic choice not to show this notice by default for known celebrities or public figures."

So want to know if Google's algorithms deem you well-known enough to count as a celebrity or public figure, just search your name at google.co.uk. If you don't see a message about removed results, you've made it.