CHICAGO, April 27 (UPI) -- A new feature launched last week by Google.com, the Internet's most popular search engine, allows users to see all of their past searches, but privacy experts told UPI's The Web the service easily could be abused.
"People should review the site's privacy policy before using the service," said Tom Guida, an intellectual property attorney with Baker & Hostetler LLP in New York City.
The service, called My Search History, is similar to, but more comprehensive than, the feature Amazon.com, Ask Jeeves and America Online have offered for some time. It is intended to help people who use Google locate the information they sought during earlier searches so they can avoid repeating past queries.
"Ever find what you're looking for with Google, then promptly forget what you found?" the new feature asks users in an FAQ section on its site. "My Search History shows you all the searches you've done on Google and the search results you've clicked on, and presents this information in ways we think are most useful."
To set up the account, go to google.com/searchhistory. Once a user has done this, he or she will be able to see the search words previously entered -- for example, "Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger" -- as well as the sites visited previously that contain information on that search term. The hits are arranged chronologically, along with the times and dates of the searches.
"If you don't remember an exact search query, for instance, but do remember when you did the search, you can use My Search History's calendar feature to check the searches you did on a given day and navigate to any of them with a single click," the Google site says.
People also can do a full-text search over their entire search history.
"You can review everything Google has ever shown you about apples, bass fishing or 'The Wizard of Oz,' by clicking on the Related History link next to any search term when it appears," Google says.
This may sound interesting and useful, but computer experts said there are risks to privacy the technology has now generated.
"The main privacy concerns come down to two issues," said Tom Mighell, senior counsel with the Dallas law firm of Cowles & Thompson. "Allowing Google to store your search history on their computers -- this really depends on how you feel about other people storing your data."
Mighell noted a number of other sites online -- such as bookseller Amazon.com and eBay.com -- already store a lot of information about users on their computer servers.
"As long as Google holds up its end of the privacy policy, that information should remain safely on its servers," he said.
The privacy policy ensures the consumer's data will not be provided to third parties without the users consent, but it cannot prevent hackers from obtaining the data illicitly, or that police will not be able to obtain it with a warrant.
"A potentially more serious issue concerns computers that are used by more than one person," Mighell said. "To use My Search History, you have to be logged in. If you forget to log off, and someone else uses your computer, he is able to view your search history."
In industry argot, people will have to practice "good computer hygiene" to use this feature, he said. "Unfortunately, the average computer user doesn't have good computer hygiene, and expecting a higher level of awareness to use this service may be asking too much."
There are some built-in security features, though, which may help the average person: "The ability to remove any or all of your search history, or the ability to 'pause' collection of search history for an indefinite period of time," Mighell said, "but will people remember to use those features?"
Security expert R. David Lankes, an assistant professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, said the developments at the search engines are akin to creating what he terms "search diaries" for users. He said one way to prevent anyone from learning someone else's search history is to create a fictional account name for Google that is not used for other sites.
"That isn't verified," Lankes added. "You can also delete accounts."
Google has run into questions about security before, when it launched its GMail service.
Despite the privacy issues, Lankes said, "(Google has) managed to build user trust, so I think this will continue to have a good impression among their users. As for embarrassment, better to look at what your browser holds on to. Most support auto-completes and search histories. This means someone can get a quick picture of what is being searched using that computer with no problems."
Some industry experts think the prospect of access to the personal search portfolio of every individual Internet user will be too tempting for marketers, who will press to develop new technologies tailored to those searches.
"I think it is interesting from an advertising standpoint -- that's the one thing that could be compelling," said Kelly Cutler, president of Marcel Media, an interactive advertising consulting company in Chicago. "The ability to alter the advertising message based on the individual's search history -- that's not available right now -- but eventually that could be the direction that they are going. That could be a way for advertisers to alter the message based on the preferences that the consumer has set up."
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