Here's how to avoid personal Google filtering when searching. Six methods to depersonalize its search results.
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Google uses the information it collects from you to make your search results more relevant to you. But by shaping the content you see to suit your perceived interests, it also puts you in a filter bubble. This means that you may lose useful sites that Google algorithms find less relevant to you.
Depersonalizing your results, either temporarily or permanently, allows you to free yourself from the influence of Google without losing your search engine. We will explain how to break this filter bubble that surrounds you company, to enjoy an unbiased search experience.
1. Anonymous search in private browsing mode
The easiest way to get unfiltered search results is to use the private mode of your browser. Theoretically, this allows you to search the web without being logged in to your Google Account. This way, your previous search activity does not affect the results.
To switch to private mode, click the menu button in the top-right corner of your browser and select New Incognito Window (in Chrome and Brave), New Private Window (in Firefox), or New InPrivate Window (in Edge). Alternatively, press Ctrl + Shift + N on your keyboard (Ctrl + Shift + P in Firefox).
Essentially, even in private mode, Google can use cookies to offer “more relevant results and suggestions” based on your past searches. It does this using a feature called Signed-out search activity , which is secretly enabled by default.
In EU countries, Google is now legally required to display a feature that allows you to disable this option. When a “ Before continuing ” message appears, click “More options,” select “Edit search settings,” and disable “Web & app activity.”
If you didn't pay attention the first time it asked you, go to Google's Search Customization page to disable the feature.
Or click Settings at the top of your search results and select "Search Settings> Search History".
2. Disable Private Search Results
When you sign in to Google, your search results may include content from other Google tools you use, such as Gmail, Calendar, and Photos. Although only you can see this information, you may prefer that your results not be personalized this way.
To temporarily remove these entries from your search results, click Settings on the Google search page, and select Search Settings> Personal Results> Manage. Disable "Show personal results".
The same option can be found in the Google app for Android and iOS.
3. Clear and turn off search history
Because your filter bubble is largely (but not entirely) based on things you've searched for in the past, regularly deleting your search data from Google helps to depersonalize your results.
You can view this data by signing in to the My Google Activity page . Here, you'll see every search term you've ever searched for, the link you've visited, the YouTube videos you've watched, and all your other activity across Google services.
To delete a specific day's search history, click the X next to that day. Alternatively, select " Clear activity by " from the left-hand menu to delete data for a specific time frame. The most granular option is " From the beginning ," which deletes all activity data Google has stored for you.
To stop Google saving your future searches, click Web and Application Activity and turn off the feature (or pause it). This will prevent Google from personalizing your results, but you will need to delete data that has already been collected.
Click Automatically delete, and you can instruct Google to automatically delete your data after 3, 18, or 36 months. However, this means that it will always have at least 12 weeks of search history to rely on your bubble, so we would advise you to delete it manually.
4. Clear your browser cookies and location data
In addition to using data from your account, Google uses information stored locally in cookies. This is why sites you have visited in the past through Google rank higher in your results than those you have not visited.
The above page appears when you first request to enter the Google page. Of course you do not care about the rush to get into Google, but pay attention to the philosophy of the page. The letters are intentionally faint, the text large, for the simple reason that you do not give it any meaning. The whole internet is full of such tricks.
One way to prevent this personalization is to delete cookies and other data on your websites. In Chrome, click the Menu button and go to Settings> Privacy & Security> Show Cookies & Other Website Data> Show All Cookies & Website Data> Remove All. There, you can alternatively choose which Cookies you specifically want to delete.
The downside is that you will lose your login status, preferences, and other saved data for non-Google sites. You can address this issue by specifically deleting Google cookies.
This page has Search cookies . Search for google.com or the local version of the search engine, such as google.gr. Press Enter and only Google's will appear. Then click Remove All .
To automatically delete only Google cookies , return to Settings > Privacy & Security > Show Cookies and other site data, scroll down to “ Custom behaviors ” and “Always delete cookies when windows are closed,” and click Add. Type google.com and click Add again.
Google will always delete its own cookies when you close your browser
5. Mislead your site to depersonalize the results
Google results are also filtered based on the country you're searching from, as Google prioritizes relevant local information. While you can unfilter this by hiding your location with a VPN or proxy, it's easier if you have Chrome to use SEO Search Simulator by Nightwatch.
This Chrome extension forging sites is aimed primarily at webmasters, allowing them to see the ranking of their sites on Google in various countries around the world. But it is equally useful for anyone who wants to remove geographical bias from their Google results.
Install SEO Search Simulator, and then click its toolbar button to open a new tab and sidebar. Enter a search query, select a country in the drop-down menu (you can also select the language you prefer) and click Run Search. Impersonal Google search results will appear on the left.
For Firefox, install the similar add-on: Google Search – Geolocation & Language Change.
6. Change your search engine with Startpage
If you want the quality of Google searches without relying on your data, or having it tracked, stored, shared, and used to shape your results, consider switching to Startpage . This privacy-focused search engine lets you “break the filter bubble to see a wider variety of results.”
Unlike rival DuckDuckGo private search engine, Startpage uses Google results, but without the cookies and profiles that prioritize certain sites over others. It queries Google anonymously and then delivers your results privately so Google never knows who you are.
You can either visit Startpage when you want to perform an unfiltered Google search, or set it as your default search engine (just click the button on the homepage). Startpage is also available as an extension for Chrome and Firefox.
In 2019, there were some concerns when Startpage was acquired by System1, an ad technology company. However, the search engine insists that it will continue to provide “quality, unbiased search results, respect online privacy, and will never store consumer data.”
Clear Google search results
Google does a great job of making your search results about you, but that also allows it to control the content you see. Depersonalizing your results provides a fairer way to search the web and has privacy benefits as well.
Of course, there are many other ways Google monitors you online (and offline), but the above tips for avoiding personalized filtering give you a good start in not sharing your data online.
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