For example, if a browser requests content that’s no longer hosted on the server, then a 404 (not found) status code will be generated. The first number of the status code indicates what ...

If the server does not wish to make this information available to the client, the status code 404 (Not Found) can be used instead. Google warned once before about misuse of 403s on your site.

If you removed the page and there's no replacement page on your site with similar content, return a 404 (not found) or 410 (gone) response (status) code for the page.

The 4xx range of status codes functions largely as expected. Google appropriately processes standard codes like 404 (not found) and 410 (gone), which remain essential for proper crawl management.