Google’s Search History, Recommendations Settings Allow Users to Customize Experiences in Search

In Focus

• Google is introducing new settings for search history and personalization
• The Search Services History setting allow users to determine which queries to save
• Recommendation settings enable users to customize search results to their interests
• The new tools will be rolling out in the coming weeks

Google is changing the way it handles recommendations and search history. The tech company is introducing two new features that give five users more control over personalization of Search history and recommendations. The new settings will be rolling out in the coming weeks and users will receive email and in-app notifications.

How Does the Search Services History Setting Work?

Google’s personalization update replaces “Web & App Activity” and “Search Personalization” settings with two independent settings. The new settings are “Search Services History” and “Personalized Recommendation”.

Previously, the company used the Google “Web & App Activity” and “Search Personalization” settings to save Search history and personalize recommendations for users. The shift to the new independent settings will enable users to customize their experiences in Search.

The new Google data saving settings will determine whether users want to save queries from previous searches and other activities in Shopping, Search, Maps, Hotels, News, Translate, and Flights.

Google, which recently introduced AI-powered ads, said the new Search Services History will include:

• Information from websites that users visit with Search service
• Online searches
• AI responses

The new settings do not manage data from Google services that have built-in history settings like Gemini Apps, Chrome, and YouTube. However, it can include media from user interactions, including audios recorded through Search Live and images uploaded from Google Lens. To save these interactions, users must enable the “Save Media” function.

What Does the Recommendations Setting Do?

Google’s new “Personalized Recommendations” setting will determine whether the search giant displays content that is customized to user’s preferences. This includes showing curated feeds, results that match their interests, among others.

The tech company plans to mirror the previous settings preferences when enabling the settings. For instance, users who have disabled “Search Personalization” but enabled “Web & App Activity” will only have “Search Services History” enabled in the new settings.

The tech company will also preserve previous auto-delete settings. Users will have control on how long their search data is saved and will be able to delete it when they want. By giving users control over account activity, Google appears to be complying with data privacy rules like the General Data Protection Regulations in Europe.

When Can Users Adjust the New Settings?

Users will be able to adjust their preferences from the “Search Services History” and the “Personalized Recommendations” settings as soon as the new tools roll out.

Where the new settings are unavailable, Web & App Activity tools will continue to control user data. Google said it is not getting rid of the Web & App Activity settings yet. According to the tech giant, these settings still control activities and personalization in other services.