To offer a more in-depth and relevant search, Google is preparing to implement a functionality that is, to say the least, invasive.
We know that Google is seeking to completely reinvent web search. And this could well be to the detriment of our personal data. Fears shared many times in recent months by defenders of privacy on the Internet, among whom the new functionality of Google Chrome risks causing a certain fear.
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Make browsing history “searchable”
While search results generated by Google’s AI make people laugh as much as they scare, the Chrome browser (the most used in the world) is starting to show traces of a feature called “History search” (History search in French). A feature still inactive, unearthed online by developer Leopeva64 on X, which nevertheless gives a glimpse of what the Web giant is working on.
Clearly, if Google were to activate this functionality, Internet users could carry out semantic searches within their browsing history. Let’s explain: until now, it is only possible to search in its history for the title of the pages visited. With this advanced functionality, users could, simply by remembering a few terms or phrases seen on the page they are looking for, find the right URL in their history.
Google wants its Recall
Problem: AI search means servers. And who says servers says third-party observers. In other words, using this feature (which, a priori, should be optional) would amount to giving Google the keys not only to our browsing history, but also to everything we have read or seen on the pages. visited. Data to which Google employees can have access, according to the main interested party.
“When you search browsing history, your search terms, top match page content, and model-generated results are sent to Google and may be viewed by human reviewers to improve this feature.
As you browse sites, their content is saved in encrypted form on your device. »
It’s hard not to see the resemblance between this feature currently being tested and Microsoft’s Recall function. A feature that, as a reminder, takes a screenshot of everything a person does on their computer to allow them to search deep into their history. A feature, finally, which has just seen its launch delayed after many voices were raised to denounce its poor security and the risks surrounding data confidentiality.
