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Google Search just got a lot more personal

Published May 30th, 2017 7:52AM EDT
Google Search Personal Results Tab
Image: Eric Risberg/AP/REX/Shutterstock

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Google already tracks everything you do while inside any of its online services to make money off your data. The trade-off is worth it, many people will argue. Even if Google is able to learn a lot of details about you, it offers invaluable services including Gmail, Google Maps, and search. So if you’re already letting Google aggregate your data, you should know that Google Search now puts this particular skill to good use for you.

The Personal tab might not be immediately obvious to users, but it’s right there on Google Search, buried inside the More option.

Image source: Google

When you search the web, Google categorizes the results. You might be looking for All results for a query, or just for Images, Maps, or News. That’s right, that’s the menu where you’ll find the More option.

So what’s inside the Personal you ask? Well, the tab will show you relevant results that contain the keywords, but these results come from your Google usage. The Personal tab shows you results that are only visible to you for any items, and they can originate from Google Photos, Calendar or Gmail. Google Drive support isn’t included, The Independent notes, but it’s possible that it’ll show up in the future.

The Personal tab might not show up for all Google users at this time, but it should appear to all users shortly.

If you want to prevent Google from delivering any private results, you can simply go to your Google Account in the Search Settings area and tick the Do Not use private results option in the Private results section.

The personal search results should show up in search only when you’re signed in. So if you want to guard your privacy, you should sign out of your Google account on computers shared with others if you want to use this new search option.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.