Google Launches Encrypted Search

Google has recently launched encrypted search in beta and it prevents data from being intercepted while it travels the internet.  Currently, only Google offers encrypted search and competitors like Yahoo and Microsoft do not have this feature.  The encryption is only for search right now, and services like Google maps does not have this feature yet.

The encrypted search provides additional security, but Google still has a history of what you search.  Most users trust that Google would not misuse their data, but Google faces privacy challenges very often.  Only a couple days ago, Google’s street view cars picked up wireless data.  It may seem that the events might be related, but Google claims that they are not.

One of the useful features in Google’s encrypted search is that it would not appear in your search history and autofill.  This could be useful for corporate users where searches could reveal upcoming product or service announcement.

Most of the popular browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome have a private browsing mode that do not store any tracks of your browsing data.  It would be very secure if you use the encrypted search with the private browsing mode. With it, there would be no data stored on your computer. The data sent to Google would be encrypted so the chances are slim for an interception.  Google has your data now, and most users feel that Google can be trusted.  The only bad thing about Google’s encrypted search is that it slightly slower compared to searching without encryption.