Google is discontinuing its dark web report security tool

Google has suddenly – and quietly – announced that its dark web report is to be discontinued. Designed to scan the dark web for leaked personal data, Google has decided that the tool is no longer needed.

There is not long to go until the tool shut down. In just a month’s time, there will be no more scanning of the dark web for data; one month after this, the dark web report will disappear entirely. Here’s what you need to know.

In the announcement about the upcoming closure, Google says that part of the reason for killing off the dark web report was based on user feedback. The opt-in tool was found to be helpful in providing information about the existence of personal information on the dark web, but failed to give much in the way of help with what to do next.

Google’s announcement about the shuttering is oddly titled “Learn about updates to dark web report”. It reads:

We are discontinuing the dark web report, which was meant to scan the dark web for your personal information. The key dates are:

• January 15, 2026: The scans for new dark web breaches stop.
• February 16, 2026: The dark web report is no longer available.

The company goes on to explain some of the thinking behind getting rid of the dark web report:

While the report offered general information, feedback showed that it didn't provide helpful next steps. We're making this change to instead focus on tools that give you more clear, actionable steps to protect your information online. We'll continue to track and defend you from online threats, including the dark web, and build tools that help protect you and your personal information.

It points to several other security tools it offers as a way of helping to “strengthen your security and privacy”:

• Security Checkup
• Create a Passkey to Log Into Your Google Account
• Authentication Tools for secure Sign-In Google Safety Center
• Google Password Manager
• Password Checkup

The closure of the dark web report means that all data will be deleted. The automatic deletion is not scheduled until mid-February, but Google says that it is possible to proactively remove it ahead of this date if this is preferable:

On February 16, 2026, all data related to dark web report will be deleted. You can also delete your data ahead of time. After you delete your profile, you'll no longer have access to dark web report.

The company provides the following instructions:

1. On your computer, go to the Dark web report.
2. Under “Results with your info,” click Edit monitoring profile.
3. At the bottom, click Delete monitoring profile > Delete.

Have you use Google dark web report? Will you miss it?