If it is de-indexed, can people still find it?

Yes. By direct link, through another search engine you did not file with, through archives, and by searching terms other than your name. De-indexing reduces discovery substantially; it does not end it.

Why would anyone choose de-indexing then?

Because very often it is the only thing available. A publisher who refuses to unpublish cannot be made to, and de-indexing removes the route by which almost everyone would have found the page.

Does de-indexing on Google cover Bing?

No. Each search engine runs its own process and reaches its own decision, so each is a separate filing and should be priced as one.

Compare · Defend

De-indexing vs source removal

The distinction matters more than almost anything else in content removal, and it is the one most often glossed over in a sales call, because the easier job is the one being sold.

What is the difference between de-indexing and removing content?

Source removal deletes the page itself, which clears it from every search engine at once and from any future crawl. De-indexing asks one search engine to stop returning a URL that remains live — so the page is still online, still reachable by direct link, still findable on other engines, and still in archives. De-indexing is usually easier to obtain; source removal is the only one that is permanent.

Source removal

The page is deleted. Clears every engine, every archive crawl, every direct visit.

De-indexing

The page stays live. One search engine stops returning it. Scoped, reversible, and often name-only.

Side by side

	Source removal	De-indexing
Is the page gone	Yes	No. It is live and reachable by link
Covers other search engines	Yes, automatically	No. Each engine is a separate filing
Covers direct links	Yes	No. Anyone with the URL still reads it
Who has to agree	The publisher or the host	The search engine
How hard	Harder. Publishers refuse routinely	Easier where a policy or legal ground applies
Permanence	Permanent unless republished	Can be reversed, and re-filing may be needed
Scope	Total	Often limited to searches of your name
Typical cost	Higher — it is negotiation or legal work	Lower — it is a documented filing

Which to pursue

Try source removal first, every time, even though it is the harder job and the smaller fee for us. It is the only outcome that actually ends the problem. De-index when the source has refused, or where the publisher is unreachable, or in parallel while a slow source negotiation runs. A provider who goes straight to de-indexing without having tried the source is choosing the easier billable work over the better outcome.

Source removal first. De-index when the source has said no, or while waiting for them to answer.

Questions

News article removal Right to be forgotten Removal vs suppression

Last reviewed 5 October 2026. Prices and platform policies change; we re-check every page quarterly.