Google Drops Saved Plus Searches And Saved Maps

Google has notified users know that a feature in Google+, namely the ability to save one’s searches, will be dropped as of 15 November.

The announcement is being made when existing Google+ users click on their saved searches and find a brief drop-down note from Google that advises them of the coming changes.

Service Changes

Google is apparently replacing the saved search function by having users save future searches using bookmarks, according to a Google support post. “Note: Browser bookmarks replace the earlier ‘Save this search’ option in Google+. You can access any existing saved searches from the Home > More menu until November 15, 2013.”

To bookmark a Google+ search, users can enter their search terms in the search box, click Enter, and then click the “star” bookmarking icon that is located in the address bar where the site’s URL is found, according to Google.

This isn’t the only missing “save” feature that was formerly found in a Google application.

Since Google redesigned Google Maps earlier this summer, users have also apparently lost the ability to “save” a Google Map to a folder where commonly used maps could be quickly and easily pulled back up again for use. That saved maps feature was very useful for saving maps to frequent destinations.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes in Google+ searches and told eWEEK in a reply that Google Maps is still undergoing a revamping so any missing features might just not yet be reintroduced.

“We’re constantly working to add both familiar and brand new features, and we’re delighted to say that we’ve already been able to add the most requested feature from classic Maps – directions to multiple destinations,” the spokesperson said. “Please be patient as we make the product even better, and send us any feedback you might have.”

Angry Users

That multiple destination feature in Google Maps was reintroduced earlier in October  after being left out of the Maps platform when it was updated earlier this summer. The multiple destinations capability that was in earlier versions of Google Maps allowed users to plan a trip from point A to point B, then add a point C in as well, making it a fabulous tool for planning a trip to a string of destinations. It helped users plan distances, routes and stops along the way, and its disappearance from the reworked Google Maps earlier this summer was panned by many users on Google+ comment pages. Its return is a good thing for users.

In August, Google+ users gained the ability to view basic translations when other users make posts in languages other than their own using the new Google+ translation feature.

The new service continues Google’s tradition of adding and updating translation capabilities in its products. The Web-based tools make it easier for Web users to understand the information they find, even if it’s in a foreign language.

Google turned 15 years old as a company in September after getting its start in a Menlo Park, Calif., garage that was rented for $1,700 (£1,048) a month. The company’s milestone was overshadowed, however, by an announcement of a new search algorithm that Google built to give better answers to search queries. The algorithm change came as part of an update called “Hummingbird” that Google gradually rolled out.

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Originally published on eWeek.