
Ask HN: Do my Google searches affect search results for other users? - phkahler
ASK HN: I&#x27;ve been digging into someones past life and some of the obscure things I&#x27;ve found are starting to show up higher in search results. Some stuff is now showing up with searches on related names. If that&#x27;s customized for me it&#x27;s fine, but I don&#x27;t want to end up doxing this person for anyone who types their name into Google. I&#x27;m not logged in to any Google stuff when I do this, and the changes seem to appear on all my devices. Am I rewiring Googles brain for everyone?
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jeffmould
The short answer is that yes, it is only for you. Google customizes results
based on what it thinks you are looking for and your geographic location. So
someone searching for the same term in San Francisco may see a different order
of results than a person in San Diego.

You can use the Adwords Search Preview tool to get an idea of what is on the
first page of Google results for any search term in any geographic location.
It only shows the first 10 results though. You do not need to be an Adwords
customer to use it.

~~~
CarolineW
Your reply seems contradictory. The question is:

    
    
      > Am I rewiring Googles brain
      > for everyone?
    

Your answer:

    
    
      > ... yes, it is only for you.
    

It's nice that you then expand, but you have genuinely left me confused. You
said "yes", which implies that this person's search is changing the results
for other people. Then you said "it is only for you", which implies that this
person's search results is _not_ changing the search results for other people.

So, perhaps someone can chime in with a non-self-contradictory answer to the
question:

    
    
      Is this person's search activity changing the
      results experienced by other people or not?
    

Thanks.

~~~
jeffmould
Sorry, it should have ready "yes, but it is only rewiring for you".

Google customizes its results based on the user and/or what it thinks that
user wants to see based on their previous searches. This includes the user's
previous searches, their location, the type of device, and other demographical
information that Google may know about that user.

While the exact algorithm is a secret, you would most likely have to do
millions of searches before it would greatly impact the results for other
users.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Personalized_Search](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Personalized_Search)

[2] [http://www.webpresencesolutions.net/7-reasons-google-
search-...](http://www.webpresencesolutions.net/7-reasons-google-search-
results-vary-dramatically/)

[3] [https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-being-logged-into-
Google...](https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-being-logged-into-Google-
affect-my-search-results)

[4] [https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-
search-...](https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-search-for-
everyone.html)

Could probably keep going with links.

