Google has announced an impressive improvement in the personalization of the search results, where Google provides the users with customized search results, based on his online behavior. As is, if a a user visits a website more frequently, then that particular website will be displayed in the top search results in Google for that particular search string, provided the user is logged on to his Google account.

Now, Google has innovated an all new technique with which, users will be provided with customized search results, regardless of their Google login status. Google will be introducing a separate cookie, that will e installed on a user’s computer, that will in turn collect online trends for 180 days and based on the information, the search results suitable to the user, will be displayed on Google. This new protocol will also give Google the power to improve its ad targeting for the non-Google users.

Along with the personalized search results, Google will also display a “view customizations” link in the top right side of the search results page, where the users will be able to turn on and of the personalization option and will also be presented with Google’s process of search customization. However, the privacy advocates are already questioning the new Google process and have meticulously stated that, the option of non-personalization with non-Google users, was the one of the only ways of putting brakes to Google’s data collection initiatives.

According Marc Rotenberg (Exec. Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center),

“The key point is that Google is now tracking users of search who have specifically chosen not to log in to a Google account. They are obliterating one of the few remaining privacy safeguards for Google services.”

However, in a subtle rebuttal Google said,

“Our goal is to provide relevant search results. The benefits that we’ve seen for signed-in users were so great we want to extend those same benefits to everyone.”

Via New York Times & Official Google Blog.