Google Account History

Google's Account Settings page has a new section called "Account History". The section shows some links that let you manage Google search history, Google location history, YouTube search history and watch history (the videos you've watched).

Google also includes "pause" buttons for all the 4 data streams. When you click "pause", Google shows black-and-white pictures and tells you what you'll be missing.

"Pausing Google Search History may limit or disable features such as Google Now, more accurate search results and predictions, and saved searches on mobile devices. Pausing Google Location History will limit the functionality of some Google products over time, such as Google Maps and Google Now. Pausing YouTube Search History does not delete existing history. To view your history, remove individual items, or clear your entire history, go to your YouTube Search History page."

Here's what happens when you pause Google search history, Google location history, YouTube search history and watch history: the colorful images are converted to black and white.

YouTube's watch history is really useful because it shows all the videos you've watched from any device, as long as you are logged in. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't provide a search feature, so you have scroll until you find the right video. YouTube's watch history is the most important source for YouTube's recommendations, so you should delete some of the videos if you see unpleasant recommendations. Google also uses video history to improve ads, but you can opt out of interest-based Google ads.

YouTube's search history is used to show search suggestions and to improve recommendations. The first two suggestions from the screenshot below are from my search history:

Google search history is used to show search suggestions, to restrict results to pages you've visited, to personalize search results, to improve ads and to provide data for some Google Now cards. There's an important distinction between YouTube search history and Google search history: YouTube only saves your queries and the watch history is saved separately, while Google search history includes both your queries and the search results you've clicked on.

Location History started as a Google Latitude feature, but it's still available, even if Google Latitude was discontinued. To understand Location History, you need to know what Location Reporting is.

"Location Reporting allows Google to periodically store and use your device's most recent location data in connection with your Google Account. Location History allows Google to store a history of your location data from all devices where you are logged into your Google Account and have enabled Location Reporting."

Both features are related to mobile devices and they're used by Android/iOS apps like Google Maps, Google Search and Google+. Location History requires Location Reporting, but you can use Location Reporting while disabling Location History. Google uses your data to improve Google Maps search results based on the places that you've been, to show some Google Now cards and to show your data on a map. Here are some ways to disable Location History and Location Reporting from an Android device.

{ Thanks, Herin Maru. }

Easter Eggs for Google Maps UK Directions

Google Maps has a few funny Easter Eggs for UK directions:

* a dragon can get you from Snowdon to Brecon Beacons in only 21 minutes

* the Loch Ness Monster can get you from Fort Augustus to Urquhart Castle

* you can use the Royal Carriage between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle

* "If you've ever ventured to Oxford or Cambridge, you'll know that punting – steering a flat-bottomed boat on a narrow or shallow river – is a defining characteristic of both cities. If you want travel between Magdalene College and Mathematical Bridge (Cambridge) or Magdalen College and Wolfson College (Oxford) by water, Google Maps has got you covered," found The Next Web.

{ via The Next Web }

Knowledge Graph Card in Google Maps

Google Maps for desktop added a "quick facts" card that uses information from the Knowledge Graph. If you search for a country, a state, a city, a district, a museum or any other important building, you'll find some information from Wikipedia.

Google Maps cards include a lot of useful information, depending on the context: events, transit information, hotel booking.

{ via +Google Maps }

Public Transit Directions in Google Search

Google Search not only shows driving directions, it also shows a card for public transit directions. This feature seems to be limited to trains and buses. Another limitation is that this feature only works if you are in the US.

"Find the best route to travel using public transportation without ever leaving the Google Search page. For example, if you're in New York and traveling from Fulton Street to Times Square, you can search [from columbus circle to times square by train] to find information about the next train that's leaving. You can also search for directions between cities, like [seattle to portland by train]," informs Google.

Click the Settings button to specify the date and time for your departure or arrival.

You can also append to your query "arriving by 5 pm" or "departing at 6 pm".

Google Maps for Android Adds Feeling Lucky Button

The latest version of Google Maps for Android adds an "I'm Feeling Lucky" button that automatically picks the destination when searching for directions. This only works when "my location" is selected as the starting point and Google has enough information to offer relevant recommendations.

The "I'm Feeling Lucky" option works especially well when it's obvious where you are going, for example when you're heading home from work. Google uses information from Gmail, Google Calendar, Google+, Google Search history, Google Maps history, Google Trends, Google Drive, Chrome and even Google Reader. The power of Google Reader's data is yet to be fully unlocked, but there's a lot of potential.

Update: This is a joke for April Fools' Day 2014.

The New Google Maps Replaces the Classic Interface

Last year, Google released a completely new Google Maps interface for desktop, but made it opt-in. Since then, the Google Maps team fixed bugs, improved performance and added some of the missing features (Pegman, My Location, short URLs, multi-point directions). The next step is obvious: the new Google Maps will become the default version.

"Over the coming weeks, the new Google Maps will make its way onto desktops around the world. Many of you have been previewing it since its debut last May, and thanks to your helpful feedback we're ready to make the new Maps even more widely available," informs Google.

The new Google Maps promised to bring an immersive experience, a personalized map that shows what's relevant and helps you make smarter decisions using recommendations from your Google+ circles. It's a simplified interface that's closer to the mobile UI. Google removed some of the features from the classic interface and focused on the basics: a map you're encouraged to explore, unified directions that show the best options, instant search, permalinks, panoramic images, Google Earth and Street View without plugins.

Classic Google Maps is still available: you can switch by clicking the "?" icon at the bottom of the page and selecting "Return to classic Google Maps". You'll see this message: "You have switched back to classic Google Maps for this session. Remember this choice for next time?". Click "Yes" to always go to the old interface when visiting Google Maps.