Request a site be set to Private
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I don’t remember the username or email associated with this account, and i am unable to utilize the account recovery option due to not having any of the 3 items to prove ownership. This is an old site for our organization and i need to deactivate it or keep others from finding it when they are trying to find our actual website – http://www.ozarkswellnessnetwork.org
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there, it looks like kariwriter is the site owner there. If you are not able to log into that account and do not have access to the account email or password, it may not be possible to recover that account.
While I’ve flagged your forum thread for Staff attention and assistance in setting the site to Private, do know that if staff agree to set the site to private, it may still show up in Google search results. Read more about that here: https://wordpress.com/support/account-recovery/#if-ownership-cannot-be-established
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Hi @ownitsecretary,
The site https://owntheozarksblog.wordpress.com/ has been set to private, as requested. Per our policy, we’ve notified the account’s registered email.
As @2020testjj correctly pointed out, Google may take a while to update its search index, and this process is outside WordPress.com’s control. Eventually, Google’s crawlers will recognize that your site is private, and will no longer appear in search results. Check out this page on how search engines work.
You can try expediting the removal of your site from Google search results by following these instructions. You can find additional information here as well.
I hope that helps. -
Thank you! Setting the site to private helps a lot. I appreciate the assistance @2020testjj and @ltardimcce46dc07f
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Without a way to verify ownership, WordPress.com can’t grant access to the account.
If the site contains personal information, it can be set to private so it’s no longer visible to the public or search engines.
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It sounds like the main issue is that the site is still appearing in search results even after being set to private.
Since WordPress has already made the site private, the remaining problem is just caching/indexing on Google’s side. That part is outside of WordPress control, so it usually takes some time for search engines to update.
To speed things up, you can use Google’s URL removal tool or request re-indexing so the cached results are cleared faster. That usually helps reduce visibility sooner than waiting for automatic updates.
In the meantime, making sure the site stays private is the key step, which has already been done.
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If you don’t have access to the email/username or the recovery details, the fastest way forward is to focus on limiting visibility rather than full account recovery.
Since this is a WordPress.com site, you can request the blog to be set to private or noindexed, which prevents it from showing up in search results. If you can’t access the account at all, the next step would be to contact WordPress support and request a site ownership or removal review, they usually ask for any proof related to the organization/domain.
In the meantime, once it’s private, search engines will gradually drop it from results, which should help reduce confusion with your main website.
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It sounds like the main issue is that the site is still appearing in search results even after being set to private.
Since WordPress has already made the site private, the remaining problem is just caching/indexing on Google’s side. That part is outside of WordPress control, so it usually takes some time for search engines to update.
To speed things up, you can use Google’s URL removal tool or request re-indexing so the cached results are cleared faster. That usually helps reduce visibility sooner than waiting for automatic updates.
I’ve seen a similar discussion around wall cleaners NJ type cases where cached pages took time to disappear even after changes.
In the meantime, keeping the site private is the key step, which has already been done.
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