Google has announced it will be trialling a feature that lets users see results from their Gmail inbox when searching the web.
While Google insists the update will improve search results the move certainly raises a number of questions from a privacy point of view.
The feature will initially only be available to a small number of users who opt-in to the trial.
Explaining the introduction of this new feature, Amit Singhal, SVP Google Search, pointed out that often the most relevant results to the query a user wants to answer are contained within their own email inbox, rather than the wider web. He said a search should return the most relevant data, irrespective of where it is stored.
This is part of Google’s attempts to make search more universal, so results from all its services can be pulled into the main search engine.
"We think you shouldn’t have to be your own mini-search engine to find the most useful information," he wrote, "it should just work. A search is a search, and we want our results to be truly universal."
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"So if you’re planning a biking trip to Tahoe, you might see relevant emails from friends about the best bike trails, or great places to eat on the right hand side of the results page. If it looks relevant you can then expand the box to read the emails," he added.
Further enhancements are planned in the shape of flight information. Typing "my flights" into the Google search box will display any emails regarding upcoming flights.
Gmail results will only be available if the user is logged into their Gmail account within the browser, Google said. The company also claimed there was no way emails from one user’s account could be displayed in the results of another user.
However despite these assurances there are still privacy concerns over the latest update. Google of course does have a shaky history when it comes to privacy and Brian Spector, CEO of security firm CertiVox, voiced his concerns about the latest move.
"It’s now the industry’s worst-kept secret that many vendors can see user data – indeed, their business model is often built on this ability, and Google have monetised it more openly than most," he told CBR. "Personally and professionally, it’s something I’m against – I worry how far it will go and I also worry about how inherently insecure the structure is that it’s built on. Daisy-chained applications need to communicate login and authentication details to each other extremely securely, and the way this is often currently done just doesn’t cut it."
"The risk is not just that an application will be compromised, but that it will be used to compromise all the others too," he added. "Ask Mat Honan whether we should be worried about that!"
This update was just one of a number of changes Google has made to its search engine. The company is also rolling out its Knowledge Graph to all English speaking countries. Previously it was only available in the US.
Google describes its Knowledge Graph as a, "database of more than 500 million real-world people, places and things with 3.5 billion attributes and connections among them."
So for example if a user starts searching for "Rio" they will be presented with suggestions for the Brazilian city, the Las Vegas casino or the film. They can then use these options to narrow down their search to the one they are interested in, Google said.
Google has also updated its voice search capabilities and announced an iOS app for iPhones and iPads. It is currently only available on Android devices. It is similar technology to Apple’s Siri platform, with the user asking a question with localised results returned, for example information on local cinemas or restaurants.
"Larry Page once described the perfect search engine as understanding exactly what you mean and giving you back exactly what you want," Singhal said.
"It’s very much like the computer I dreamt about as a child growing up in India, glued to our black-and-white TV for every episode of Star Trek. I imagined a future where a starship computer would be able to answer any question I might ask, instantly. Today, we’re closer to that dream than I ever thought possible during my working life," he added.
Singhal added that these are, "baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future — one that is much more intelligent and useful than it was just a few years ago."
