Google To Introduce “Private Results” Into Search

Google has announced plans to add information from customers’ Gmail, Google Calendar and Google+ to its personalised search results.

In a few days, users living in the US will be able to ask for information such as flight and hotel details, package tracking and restaurant reservations, right in the Google search bar, to instantly receive an answer.

There is currently no information on whether this feature is coming to the UK.

Google laid the groundwork for closer integration of its services when it introduced the single Privacy Policy in March 2012. Regulators across Europe and the US, including British ICO and French CNIL, have been demanding that the company changes the way it handles customer information ever since.

This just got personal

The Private Results feature relies on functionality previously developed for Google Now service, which was billed by Google as the ‘next big thing’, but is hardly setting the world on fire.

In a few days, users in the US will be able to simply type “What’s my flight status?” or “When will my package arrive?” and instantly receive an answer. The same commands can be entered through Google’s voice search.

Other information accessible through Private Results includes details of a customer’s shopping orders, plans in the calendar and their photos. For example, after entering “Show me my photos from Thailand”, Google will display all photos taken in the Asian country and uploaded to Google+.

“This information is just for you—secure, via encrypted connection, and visible only to you when you’re signed in to Google. Likewise, you can also control whether you want the service on or off,” explained Roy Livne, product manager at Google.

To switch the personalisation service off for a particular session, users simply have to click the globe icon at the top of the search results page. For a more permanent solution, they will have to visit the new “Private Results” section in search settings.

Google has promised to introduce additional commands for Private Results in the nearest future.

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