Google just announced that it is rolling out a new beta feature that will allow users to enable Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption when using Google’s Web search. Currently, whenever you search on Google, your search data is not encrypted and anybody with enough interest in getting this data can do so by listening in on your connection. Now, Google will use the same encryption methods that banks on e-commerce sites use to prevent others from snooping on your searches as your data moves between your browser and Google’s servers.
Google’s move towards encrypting your data as it moves between your browser and Google’s servers means that it will be very hard to hackers and governments to spy on your searches. Google added secure connections to Gmail and Google Docs quite a while ago and made SSL the default setting for all Gmail users earlier this year.
Using Secure Search
To access this new feature, head to https://www.google.com. Google, however, is only rolling this feature out slowly, so it might not be available for you yet. It’s also important to point out that this secure connection is only available for the main Google Search page right now. Searches on Google Maps and Image Search are not encrypted at this time and links to these unencrypted services won’t appear on the secure Google Search site.
It is worth noting that Google itself just got into hot water by “accidentally” gathering data from on unencrypted Wi-Fi connections while collecting WiFi data for StreetView and its geolocation API. Google itself, of course, will still collect data about your search history and use it to personalize its own ads and services accordingly.
