Old files can be found through Google search

[ShannonTrust]

Please select the priority level by adding one of the following labels to this issue

• Priority-3 (Normal e.g. Text is missing / duplicate values being shown)

Describe the bug A colleague was on Google searching for something and a couple of documents can be seen. But they're old documents that are no longer on the website, and shouldn't been seen by the public, as from the web address, it looks like it's from the back end of webflow.

To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to 'Google'
2. Search 'Shannon Trust resources'
3. Scroll down to 'third and fourth weblink'
4. See error

Expected behavior Can we make sure these documents and other can't be seen through any search platforms.

Screenshots If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem or a link to a Loom recording of the video

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: [e.g. iOS]
• Browser [e.g. chrome, safari]
• Version [e.g. 22]

Smartphone (please complete the following information):

• Device: [e.g. iPhone6]
• OS: [e.g. iOS8.1]
• Browser [e.g. stock browser, safari]
• Version [e.g. 22]

Additional context Add any other context about the problem here.

Team - do not edit @thejoefriel @RamyAlshurafa

[cyberteenie]

@ShannonTrust thanks for flagging - we will get on this straight away. For clarification, you mean the two Practice Guides, is that correct?

[ShannonTrust]

Thanks, @cyberteenie. Yes, that's correct

[RamyAlshurafa]

Hey @ShannonTrust this seems an issue in Webflow, and people say that we should contact the support and request to delete it, I can do that for you if you want?

[ShannonTrust]

Yes please, @RamyAlshurafa

[RamyAlshurafa]

Hey @ShannonTrust I have submitted a support request, and I think the reply will get to this email media@shannontrust.org.uk, can you forward any response from Webflow to me at ramy@yallacooperative.com, please?

[ShannonTrust]

Thanks, @RamyAlshurafa. I've forwarded you the email.

[RamyAlshurafa]

Hey @cyberteenie just to update on this issue, Megan has asked to wait until they switch to the new host. so I believe after the switch the links will be updated automatically, but will double-check then

[cyberteenie]

@RamyAlshurafa - hosting has been now fixed, but these files are still showing up in a Google search

[thejoefriel]

Quick update on this. @RamyAlshurafa will assign this to Halim once he's onboarded later today

[AbdelhalimOJ]

After some research, I found out it is impossible to delete assets permanently once they get uploaded to Webflow. That's because Webflow keeps backups of your website in case you want to roll back to an older version and restore the old assets. Last time I checked, Webflow doesn't clear old backups even if years have passed.

Unfortunately, we don't have control over indexing for assets because they are hosted on another domain (uploads-ssl.webflow.com). So, my last resort was to submit a ticket to Webflow support requesting that they prevent indexing of the old assets I've found on Google search (https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/619cb2a1c0ded3e7a5667772/637214fe034ba0a18f5a85af_Shannon%20Trust%20resources%20to%20order.pdf) and wait for their response.

Note: I've found only one asset, so this could be good news that other old assets are no longer indexed.

[AbdelhalimOJ]

@ShannonTrust I got an answer from Webflow and as a summary they can permanently delete the asset from their CDN. However, please note, this is a permanent and irreversible action. Once deleted, Webflow Support will not be able to restore the asset.

So you have to submit a ticket to Webflow support here with the file link you would like to delete. because this is an action they can only take for Workspace owners.

We can request the removal of this file from Google's results manually using the tools listed on Google's help documents here. However, this solution is likely only temporary as their crawlers will find and re-index the file again when the site is next crawled.

[ShannonTrust]

Hi @AbdelhalimOJ, thanks so much for looking into this, it's really useful to know. I'll save these links so we know what to do when we want any files permanently removed.

[thejoefriel]

Thanks @AbdelhalimOJ ! @ShannonTrust - can I check if you're happy for us to close this issue now?