Google makes it easier to turn off personalized search results

In Google search, a personalized search mark has appeared – if the search results are adjusted to the user, this can now be easily disabled. The function was present before, but it was more difficult to manage.

Image source: google.com

At the bottom of the page with Google search results, a note about personalization of results has appeared – if the search results have not been adjusted to the user, the system displays the message: “Results are not personalized”; otherwise, a link to the results without personalization appears nearby. “This change helps people better understand whether their results were personalized, and also gives them the ability to examine non-personalized results. We’ve also made it easier for people to change their personalization settings at any time,” Google spokesperson Ned Adriance said in a statement. Previously, the relevant information was shown individually for each item in the search results – the new option, according to the company, seems more accessible and understandable.

The general search link “gives people the opportunity to temporarily view results that have not been personalized,” Google explained—meaning that clicking on the link does not change their profile settings. You can disable personalization in search at least since 2007 – to do this you need to add the expression “&pws=0” to the end of the URL of the search results page. You can completely disable search personalization in your Google account settings.