Friday Evening Links > Google makes search history default & opt-out from opt-in

Google risked drawing the ire of privacy advocates Dec. 4 by making its personalized search results available to all of its users, whether they are signed in or not. Personalized results were previously served only to users who were signed into their Google account and had opted in to let Google track their Web History, or log of search queries and results. Going forward, personalized results will be offered to users whether they are signed in or not. By hedging the privacy quotient in Web search, Google is setting itself up for some loud barking by privacy watchdogs who already feel Google takes too many liberties with users' info.

Google will continue to use Web History to personalize result for users who are signed in. Even when users are not signed in, Google will customize their search results based on past search information linked to users' computer Web browser using an anonymous cookie. Google stores up to 180 days of signed-out search activity linked to the browser's cookie, including queries and results that are clicked.

Users who elect not to receive personalized results while they are signed in must turn off Web History and remove it from their Google account. To do that, users must be signed into their account. They then must click the My Account link from the Google homepage, click Edit next to 'My products" and then click Delete Web History.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, told the New York Times:

"The key point is that Google is now tracking users of search who have specifically chosen not to log in to a Google account. They are obliterating one of the few remaining privacy safeguards for Google services."

With each baby step, Google is tempting fate with agencies such as the Department of Justice, which is increasingly scrutinizing the company's behavior regarding its search and other Web services, such as the Google Book Search deal.