In this article, we will learn how to stop google showing previous searches. The search engine is one of the most useful software tools used by a large number of people. Almost all are familiar with the terms search engine and Google. But many are not aware of the functions carried out by the search engine. The search engine is intended to deliver the most relevant and reliable information available on the Internet. Google Search is a popular search engine launched by GOOGLE LLC in 1998. As per the statistics of 2022, about 8.5 billion searches per day are performed on Google search. Google search has several advantages over other search engines. Google has a large traffic potential that makes Google a great option for browsing.
Whether it is an organic search or a paid search, google is the best option. More than 75% of the total search per day is done through Google search. Similarly, more than 85% of total mobile traffic is carried out through Google Chrome App. Your Google search history is saved to Web&App Activity in your Google account along with other Google service activities. The Web & App activity is set as ON for storing the history. Google search engine works better than other search engines because of its simple design, User Interface, and streamlined algorithms. These algorithms will be changed many times in a year.
Search Engine Basics
A search engine is an online tool that searches the Internet based on a query and sorts the collected data in an organized way to present it on the search engine result page. The search engine searches in its own database and makes an indexed list based on certain algorithms. The search engine goes through different phases before providing the search results. The major phases are crawling, indexing, and ranking.
Crawling
Crawling is the process in which the crawlers or spiders or search engine bots fetch the web pages depending on the relevant content or the seed keywords, and the metadata used in the content. The web pages are kept like a card catalog in the physical library and are then used by the next phase.
Indexing
By applying a specialized search algorithm, the search engine organizes the crawled data for fast and accurate retrieval. Google implements an advanced and sophisticated indexing system. The indexing system is proficient in parallel operations, and a number of load balancing techniques.
Ranking
The ranking is the position assigned to a web page by the search engine in the SERP (search engine results page). The ranking is based on various factors. Effective SEO strategy is the main factor in determining Page Rank. The other factors include keywords, backlinks, and the quality of the landing page.
Types of Search activities
Organic and Paid searches
There are two types of search activities performed by search engines, namely, organic search, and paid search. As far as Google search is concerned, the effective SEO strategy makes a web page reach the top of the search engine results page (SERP) automatically. Such a search is termed an organic search or organic traffic. The paid search is the process of creating Ad campaigns and paying an amount to the search engines. Thus search engines are placing the Ads on a relevant page or at a top position in the SERP. Paid search is usually used by business companies to make traffic to their websites and thus produce more conversions. The most common paid search strategy is Pay-per-click or PPC.
Google Search
Google search algorithms are extremely efficient in automatically performing crawling, indexing, and ranking. Thus the user’s query is instantly answered. Google implements semantic search algorithms also. Semantic search incorporates a search with meaning. It is different from lexical search. In lexical search, the search engine looks only for literal matches of words or different forms of the words. Google search uses different algorithms for completing the tasks. Some of them are Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, Bert, etc. Google introduced a sentiment analysis feature by making use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) API. This is a pre-trained Machine Learning Tool that can perform sentiment analysis, pattern recognition, and syntax analysis. This plays an important role in the search process, as this feature can produce the results not only for the accurate keywords included but also rectify human errors.
Speech Recognition (ASR)
Google has already introduced a speech recognition system that has the ability to transform speech into text. This feature is called ASR or automatic speech recognition. The ASR feature allows the user to search on the Internet using voice commands. The ASR feature is carried out by Google, through the Intelligent System-based tool, Google Voice Search. This allows a search to be done through voice synthesis.
Google Lens
Google lens is an image recognition system used to search based on images. This tool uses AI-powered Technology to retrieve information about an everyday object or a visual that is pointed to it.
Google Search History
As you browse the websites, your search is being tracked and saved by using the cookies and also in the Search History of the browser. Cookies are pieces of information related to the previously searched web page and are stored in the web browser for further use.
Managing and Controlling Previous Search
The previous search is important for the browser to search and access a web page when you repeatedly browse for the same page. Previously searched web page details are stored in cookies (in the local storage of the computer or any device), or in the History sections of the web browser as far as Google is concerned. History can store all the web pages you searched and will be available online only. There are many methods that can be used for managing and controlling web browsing history. You can decide whether the previous search is needed or not.
The following are some methods to manage and control the previous history
Method1: Clearing The Browsing History
You can delete the previous web pages that you have searched permanently if no longer needed. The simplest method is to delete the pages from the browsing history. Few steps are to be followed. From the Google, Homepage click on the more option (three dots) near the Profile icon at the top right corner of the browser page. The following screen appears.
- From the options, you can select the History option. Then you can see the History, and the list of your previous searches.
- To view the web pages along with the date and time, click on the History option. Thus the following screen can be viewed.
- From the left panel of the above screen (as shown below), you can select the ‘Clear Browsing data’ option. You can clear the history selectively or fully as per your wish.
Method 2: Thru the Google Account
To stop google from showing previous searches click on the Profile icon to get the following screen then select the option ‘Manage your Google Account’. The following screen will appear. Select the option ‘Data & Privacy’. Then the following screen is displayed. Select the option ‘Data & Privacy‘. On this screen there will be a section namely, ‘History Settings’ at the end. By default, the option under this section will be ON. You can select OFF for the options that you no longer need. In order to control the display of Previous searches, you can select the ‘Web & App Activity’ and make it OFF. By clicking on the option you may be taken to another window, where you can ‘turn off’ the activity.
When the ‘Web & App Activity’ is turned on, your searches and activity from all the Google services are saved in your Google Account for further use by the browser. Thus the browser can easily crawl through the stored data to make the operation faster. When the ‘Web & App Activity’ is turned off, then no more history will exist after that. Thus the browser will not show any previous histories.
Method 3: Role of Cookies in Browsing
Cookies are small and encoded pieces of web page information that are stored in your device in order to save the space of the website’s server that can be deleted to stop google to show previous searches. The cookies are used while browsing for the same query next time. When you browse a web page the cookies are automatically saved asking you ’ Permission’. If you are allowed permission, then the cookies are saved inside the folder of your computer where the browser software is saved. Cookies can be deleted in order to prevent the details of the previous searches. Follow the steps to clear the cookies:
From the home page of the browser, select the more option (three dots) and click on ‘settings’. Then the following window will open. Select ‘Privacy & Security’. Click at Privacy & Security. In the following window, It’ll be open. Here click on the ‘Cookies and other site data’. Then you are directed to the next window where you can select the needed options related to cookies.
Here you can select to allow cookies, block all cookies, block third-party cookies, and clear all the cookies. Blocking all the cookies is not recommended. Also, you can select the option ‘Do not track’ to prevent the services from tracking your browsing journey.
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Conclusion
A search engine is a software tool that is designed to carry out Internet browsing-related functions. There are many search engines existing, but Google is the most popular one. Due to its User Interface, simplicity, and efficiency in searching, many prefer Google as the default search engine for browsing. Google has many features and one of the features is the Browsing History. The past search pages are saved in the Browsing History. Also, there are options where some websites can store cookies inside your computer where the browser software is stored. The search history and cookies are used by the search engine bots for easy retrieval of the search information. You can remove previous searches and clear the cookies by using the various options available in the browser software. The cookies can be blocked selectively.
FAQs
Cookies are small pieces of information related to the web pages you accessed. The cookies are stored in the same folder where the browser software is stored inside the local computer. These are accessed by the Crawler or search engine bots as and when required in order to achieve faster retrieval of web pages. The cookies are stored based on the permissions you set in the browser settings. Usually, they ask for permission to use them. They can be removed or blocked through options available in the .browser if no more needed. But it is not fair to block all the cookies as the search engine has to search for the pages again when a necessity arrives.
The feature of the browser is designed such that it should store the previous searches for ease of further usage. There are different ways to remove the previous search history. The simplest method is to clear the history from the browser settings. Then clear the cookies from your computer as cookies are not saved in the browser, instead, they are saved in the local computer memory for saving the server space of the browser.
It is a feature of the browser to understand the situation and retrieve the relevant information based on a user query. This is an AI-Powered feature.that is available with Google Search. The Natural Language Processing (NLP) API is used for this. This feature inspects the given text to understand the user’s attitude. The Google algorithm BERT ( Bidirectional Encoder Representation for Transformer) is an NLP-based algorithm that is used for this. This AI tool is trained on large data sets to better understand the text and patterns to produce better sentimental analysis. Thus the user feels being guided by the browser to make accuracy in the search and thus access the absolutely correct web page.
Awill Guru is a technology enthusiast with degrees in VLSI Engineering (B.Tech, M.Tech) and Android Development. Their passion for education drives them to teach and share knowledge through their blog. He also hold qualifications in Sociology (M.A.) and Education (B.Ed), along with NIELIT O and A Level certifications.
Nice and informative article. Above all, this was a much needed blog for many regular Google users…..