A couple of days ago Google unveiled a new way to display search results by integrating Google+ information into the mix, and by now many people may have noticed that their search result look different.
Many Googlers may find this feature not really useful for everyday organic search, the results page now looks crowded and, as most online services are doing it today, this new personalized search is enabled by default. OK, you can click the “Hide personal results” button, but this only turns it off for that specific instance of your search; if you were to open new tab in your web browser the personal search results will once again be back. This could be annoying for many users, so here is how to disable the new Google’s personal search results (or “Search, plus the world”), but how it reads in the headline this is “Kind of…” because Google is really pushing out its social network and it seems that there is not a way to completely opt-out.
When are you going to see the new personal results? If you are logged in to your Google account and if you are a Google+ or online Picasa user, you are more than likely to see personal results on the top of the page, to the side of the page, and in search listings with a blue person icon.
To partially disable personal search results, do the following:
1. From the Google’s search page, in the top-right hand, click the gear and then click on Search Settings.
2. Scroll down and under “Personal results” and change the setting to “Do not use personal results.”
3. Don’t forget to click the Save button at bottom of the page!
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].