Articles about Search

Technology companies are increasingly realizing that if they are to break into emerging markets, they're going to have to reduce the amount of data their apps use. Facebook Lite, Twitter Lite and LinkedIn Lite are just some of the less demanding apps to have been launched recently.

Google doesn’t want to miss out on the action. It is currently testing a data-light version of its search app for use in countries with slow connections. Search Lite (or Search (Test App)) is currently available to download from Google Play in Indonesia -- or from other sources if you're elsewhere in the world.

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A lot of people like to know what the weather is going to be like, but if you suffer from hay fever it can be all the more important to know what to expect. To make life a little easier for people struck by "seasonal allergies," Google is rolling out pollen forecasting.

The new feature is integrated into Google search, and it comes as the search giant teams up with The Weather Channel to help give accurate allergy information.

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Google has been stirring things up a little recently, adding autoplaying videos to search results, and killing off Google Instant. The autoplaying videos are also something that Facebook has tinkered with recently, managing to irritate people in the process.

If you're searching Google on your phone, one of the last things you want is to have your battery draining unnecessarily because of videos playing automatically. Thankfully, you can disable this feature; here’s how.

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Google is sidelining one of its famous features: Google Instant. The feature displays search results in real-time as you type, eliminating the need to press Enter or hit Search, but after 7 years, Google thinks it's time to wave goodbye to it.

The reason given for the cull is that the majority of searches are now conducted from mobile devices, and Google Instant makes less sense on a touchscreen. This does not mean, however, that Google's autocomplete function is disappearing.

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When Twitter and Facebook introduced autoplaying videos, many users were annoyed by their intrusive nature. Subsequent tweaks and the introduction of autoplay settings calmed the mood a little, but now Google has decided to stir things up a bit.

Perform a Google search and you might well find that the results include an autoplaying video -- even for searches that would not necessarily mean you want to see a video. Given the reception autoplaying videos have received elsewhere, this is not likely to go down well with Google users.

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Google is rolling out new features to its Search and Maps products to help get information out to people in the event of a crisis. SOS Alerts provides access to information and stories about incidents and locations where there has been some form of disaster.

Just what is displayed to you depends on how close you are to the incident. Google will show those in the area information such as emergency numbers and directions to help, while those elsewhere will see news about what is going on, and links to donate money or help.

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A few days ago Google announced plans to update its iOS and Android apps. The update sees the arrival of algorithm-powered feeds that display a personalized stream of content.  Note the reference to Apple and Google’s mobile platforms.

This story was widely reported in the tech press, but the Guardian decided to take things further, claiming that Google was on the verge of unveiling a "radical" change to it homepage on the desktop. The story is seemingly plucked out of thin air, as Google has made no such suggestion. In fact, the company has spoken out to refute the claim.

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Perform a search on Google and you may well be greeted by the OneBox when your results appear. In addition to the list of links to appropriate websites, Google also tries to provide you with at-a-glance information related to your search, and this is to be found in the boxout known as the OneBox.

It's a great idea -- but the information is not always correct. Perform a search for the (deceased) novelist Stephen Bly, for instance, and the OneBox displays a mixture of information about him, and the (very much alive) British comedian and author Stephen Fry. Very confusing stuff! You can, however, submit corrections so other people are not given incorrect information.

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Those people who have started using mobile voice search in the last six months are the most frequent voice adopters, according to news coming out of Google UK.

More than four in ten (42 percent) are using it daily, compared to those that started using it more than four years ago, where it’s frequently used by a quarter. According to the report, the adoption curve is "getting to a point where brands and agencies need to start taking it seriously."

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Google has updated its search policies without any sort of fanfare. The search engine now "may remove" -- in addition to existing categories of information -- "confidential, personal medical records of private people" from search results.

That such information was not already obscured from search results may well come as something of a surprise to many people. The change -- first reported by Bloomberg -- has been confirmed by Google, although the company has not issued any form of announcement about it.

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For the first time ever, consumers all over the world carried out more shopping-related searches on their mobile phones than on their computers.

Data from the new Salesforce Q1 2017 Shopping Index analyzed the shopping habits of more than 500 million consumers in 27 countries, with smartphones coming out on top for the first time.

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Personalized results in Google search are not exactly new, but the company has now introduced a new way to section off truly personal results. A new Personal tab (which you would be forgiven for missing as it's a little hidden out of the way) filters search results to show you only matches from your own Google content.

What this means is that you are able to easily see search results from your Gmail emails, Google Photos, Calendar and other G Suite components without having to conduct searches in each one individually. But is there cause for concern when it comes to privacy?

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The fight against fake news continues, with Google announcing not only changes to search algorithms to help prevent false information from rising to the surface, but also new tools to allow users to report "unexpected, inaccurate or offensive" results.

While the algorithm tweaks should impact on general search results, the reporting tools have been designed for Google's Autocomplete predictions and Featured Snippets which have been problematic in recent months. Updated algorithms should help to ensure more authoritative pages receive greater prominence, while low-quality content is demoted.

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Thanks to the internet, consumers are less likely to visit a gross restaurant or other bad location. You see, by reading online reviews, they can avoid these negative experiences. This is particularly helpful when travelling to a new city, as you may be unfamiliar with the area.

Unfortunately, when visiting somewhere that speaks a language that you do not understand, these reviews are useless on their own. To read them, you have to copy and paste them into a translation service, which can be an inconvenient chore. Thankfully, Google has come up with a solution for this dilemma. Starting today, the search giant will automatically translate local reviews into your language when you use its Maps or Search services. How cool is that?

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You'd be forgiven for thinking that Google is entirely pre-occupied with fake news and the fact-checking thereof these days, but there are still rather more interesting changes and additions being made to search. The latest new feature is "style ideas" which makes its way to the web and Android today.

Google says that the aim of the feature is to help "boost your search style IQ" -- because, after all, "when it comes to fashion, it’s hard to know where to start." What this means in practice is that when Image Search is used to track down a particular product, such as shoes or a bag, Google will show off images with those items paired with different products or displayed in different situations.

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