Google to Track Users' Search Histories

Google is making it easier to recall previous Web searches -- a task that may be likened to finding a needle in a haystack -- by keeping a daily record of its members' activities.

Users that log into their Google account, obtained by signing up fresh or using a Gmail account, can access My Search History to jog their memory about a particular Web site that may have been buried beneath a heap of search results.

The service works by indexing the full text of saved Web pages; pages can be automatically omitted or deleted manually later on.

Content from saved searches can be recalled through a calendar interface that orders searches day by day, or by querying the Search History database. Saved searches are limited to the primary Google.com engine and as of yet do not cover Google's budding collection of vertical search engines such as Google Local.

Google's indexing of saved pages is not a first in the highly competitive search space. Some of its rivals were first to market and similar services are already offered by Ask Jeeves, as well as Furl and Spurl.

My Search History is produced by Google Labs and can found at Google's sandbox of beta products that sooner or later make their way onto the production site.