4 Ways to Stop Google from Showing Personalized Results

Google often collects personal data, search history, activity, and location from users so it can show you personalized search results. Google tailors search results to match what users are most interested in and likely to click on. However, these personalized results raise some privacy concerns and bias in the results. To avoid reinforcing such biases, you can (and should) prevent Google from showing you personalized search results.

Table of Contents

• 1. Use the "Try Without Personalization" link from the search results
• 2. Add parameters to the search URL
• 3. Turn off personalized results from Search personalization
• 4. Turn off Google Web & App Activity

1. Use the "Try Without Personalization" link from the search results

To show non-personalized search results, Google has implemented a friendly way to improve search quality. This is probably the easiest way to disable personalization.

After performing a Google search, scroll to the bottom of the results page. Below the pagination controls (labeled "Goooooogle"), click the Try without personalization link .

This will refresh the search page and show search results without personalization.

2. Add parameters to the search URL

If you don't want to lose all personalization features, you can opt out of receiving such results for a particular query or search term.

For example, if you're running a custom search for "Make Tech Easier", replace spaces in the query with + and add the parameter &pws=0 to the end of the search URL. Your final search URL would look like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Make+Tech+Easier&pws=0

Here, 'pws' stands for "personalized web search" and setting the value to 0 will tell Google that you want to see non-personalized search results.

3. Turn off personalized results from Search personalization

Since personalized results are linked to your Google account, make sure you're signed in to your preferred account.

Go to the Google homepage, click Settings in the lower right corner, and select Search settings from the pop-up menu.

In the Privacy & Safety menu, look for the Search personalization setting under the Content tab . Google will redirect you to the personalized experience settings.

Click Personalize Search  to turn it off. You will get a message that says Personalize Search is off .

It's important to note that when Search personalization is turned off, Google won't be able to show you Google Discover stories based on your personal interests, movie recommendations, or autocomplete suggestions.

You can also change your Google settings from your mobile phone. On your mobile browser, go to the Google homepage. Tap your Google account profile in the upper right corner.

Scroll down and click More settings .

Under Content , click Search personalization .

In the Search personalization menu, tap the Personalize Search toggle to stop personalized search results.

The steps for mobile users are similar to those on desktop, with some minor UI changes to accommodate smaller screens.

4. Turn off Google Web & App Activity

Because Google's personalized search results are based on your search history, turning off history on the web and apps can significantly limit Google's ability to show you interest-based results.

Go to Google My Activity and click on Web & App Activity . If Web & App Activity is turned off, personalization is greatly reduced.

In the Web & App Activity menu , click Turn off and select Turn off . If you want completely new search results, select the Turn off and delete activity option .

Note : Among the methods given, one of the easiest ways to get non-personalized results is to access Incognito mode. However, the only reason not to use this method is that Google can still use your location and general device information to provide interest-based searches.

While personalized results can align search results with your interests, they can raise privacy concerns. Whether you disable Search personalization entirely or opt out for a specific query, these methods ensure access to a broader range of information with minimal bias.