16 votes

I believe Google search is restricting what articles I can see in my searches, based on my location. What can I do?

Whenever I search for information about something - especially about a news event - Google returns me a lot of results from Australian sites. Any foreign sites come further down the list, sometimes even on the second page of results. I've never really paid much attention to this behaviour, beyond some occasional mild frustration at not being able to find local sources.

However, this came to a head this week when I was searching for a local US-based news article about something I'd read in an Australian news site, so I could post that local US article here on Tildes (I always try to get as close to the source as possible). But, try as I might, I just could not find any good non-Australian articles about this news! It was almost like Google was deliberately blocking my attempts to read non-Australian sites. I mean, it's possible that this news wasn't reported outside Australia, but that's unlikely, seeing as it was Uber's announcement about trialling electric aircraft in Texas and Victoria. That had to get American coverage. But I struggled to find it in my searches.

I then noticed something I've never noticed before: at the bottom of my Google searches, there's a small line which tells me my current location. It's as specific as my local council area, not just my state or the country.

Is this location affecting what Google shows me in my searches? If so, how do I remove this restriction?

For context: I use Chrome, but I only sign in when I'm accessing a Google service (usually the Calendar). After I've finished with the service, I sign out. So Google isn't tracking me as a person, it's just tracking my browser's search activity.

EDIT: Thank you all. I've already set up DuckDuckGo as my default search engine, and am trying it out.

24 comments

  1. [4]
    lionirdeadman
    Link
    It's a quite known fact from what I know that Google filters out based on your personal data, Here's a study that I remembered that DuckDuckGo did regarding this subject :...
    • Exemplary

    It's a quite known fact from what I know that Google filters out based on your personal data,

    Here's a study that I remembered that DuckDuckGo did regarding this subject :
    https://spreadprivacy.com/google-filter-bubble-study/

    I think your best bet is changing search engine.

    17 votes
    1. [3]
      Wes
      Link Parent
      You should really post Google's response to the "filter bubble" argument as well. https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520 This is by Danny Sulivan who worked at Search Engine...

      You should really post Google's response to the "filter bubble" argument as well.

      https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520

      This is by Danny Sulivan who worked at Search Engine Land before joining Google as their search liaison.

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        kfwyre
        Link Parent
        From the link: This does not line up with my experience. I work as a teacher with many other teachers who are far from tech saavy. As such, a lot of times they don't know how to get students to a...

        From the link:

        As said, personalization doesn’t dramatically change results. So why might two different people searching for the same thing see results that are different? That’s often due to non-personalized reasons: location, language settings, platform & the dynamic nature of search…

        This does not line up with my experience. I work as a teacher with many other teachers who are far from tech saavy. As such, a lot of times they don't know how to get students to a specific site on the internet other than to tell them to type a specific phrase into Google. The teacher will tell students the search query to enter and then give them instructions to "click on the first link" with the belief that everyone's Google results will be the same as theirs. This then causes confusion, as the "first link" given to the teacher was not necessarily the same for everyone. Even between the students' computers, the results will vary, with different sites holding the top spot.

        The varied results aren't really explainable by the non-personalized factors that he's talking about here, as all the computers are the same type, they are in the same location, they have the same language settings, and they are submitting identical queries at almost the exact same time. Granted, the search results given aren't drastically different, and it's usually just the same set of sites in a slightly different order, but I can say it's not as cut and dry in practice as he's making it sound.

        2 votes
        1. Wes
          Link Parent
          Actually I believe the explanation does cover your experience as well. This is what is meant by the "dynamic nature of search". Consider that thousands of results are being generated dynamically...

          Actually I believe the explanation does cover your experience as well. This is what is meant by the "dynamic nature of search". Consider that thousands of results are being generated dynamically across a vast network of servers, and typically in under a tenth of a second. This process is more focused on relevancy and speed than it is on consistency. That is to say, it isn't idempotent.

          In your example, if the first two results are deemed to be of approximately equal value then the order is likely considered unimportant. If it's unimportant then the fastest option wins.

          In your second case where the person with exactly the same hardware gets a slightly shuffled result, that is most likely the result of one server having a faster response than another. Search is messy and complicated.

          3 votes
  2. [3]
    mftrhu
    Link
    Try Startpage. They basically serve as an anonymizing proxy to Google - they pull their results from Google, but without sharing information on the users with them. You can use them through...

    Try Startpage. They basically serve as an anonymizing proxy to Google - they pull their results from Google, but without sharing information on the users with them. You can use them through DuckDuckGo by putting !s before your query.

    They apparently were the default Tor browser search engine until 2015, too, when they moved to Disconnect.

    You could also anonymize your searches by proxying them through some SearX instance, but they might still be "bubbled" to the location of the proxy.

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      culturedleftfoot
      Link Parent
      Why use StartPage through DDG instead of directly?

      Why use StartPage through DDG instead of directly?

      2 votes
      1. mftrhu
        Link Parent
        Because, if you have DDG as your main search engine, you can also use any number of other search engines - !google if Startpage is not to your liking, !wikipedia if you don't want random search...

        Because, if you have DDG as your main search engine, you can also use any number of other search engines - !google if Startpage is not to your liking, !wikipedia if you don't want random search results, !bi if you want images and want them through Bing...

        1 vote
  3. [8]
    Wes
    Link
    Yes, location is used to personalize Google search results. All search results are based around a region (even when using a VPN), but you can set that region under Search Settings. On the results...

    Yes, location is used to personalize Google search results. All search results are based around a region (even when using a VPN), but you can set that region under Search Settings. On the results page go to Settings > Search Settings > Region Settings, then set United States or wherever else you'd like.

    5 votes
    1. [7]
      Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      Can de-regionalise it? Can I set it to "Global" or something like that? I've found that settings page, and it starts with "Current region", then lists a lot of countries. But what if I don't want...

      Can de-regionalise it? Can I set it to "Global" or something like that?

      I've found that settings page, and it starts with "Current region", then lists a lot of countries. But what if I don't want regionally restricted results?

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        boltsky
        Link Parent
        Have you considered using a different search engine? After switching from Google to DuckDuckGo, I use !g mostly to use Google for local results, because DDG local results are so bad.

        Have you considered using a different search engine? After switching from Google to DuckDuckGo, I use !g mostly to use Google for local results, because DDG local results are so bad.

        15 votes
        1. Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          As I was typing this post, I figured that the solution might involve using another search engine if Google won't cooperate.

          As I was typing this post, I figured that the solution might involve using another search engine if Google won't cooperate.

          4 votes
      2. cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I don't think that's possible. In Advanced Search the Region is defaulted to "Any Region", but that's actually misleading since AFAICT even with it set to that it still fetches results based on...

        I don't think that's possible. In Advanced Search the Region is defaulted to "Any Region", but that's actually misleading since AFAICT even with it set to that it still fetches results based on your personalization region. It's only once you change that to another specific Region that the results actually seem to change.

        If this is a major concern for you, I would suggest switching to DuckDuckGo. They have a region toggle+switcher at the top of the search results page and "All Regions" is the default unless you enable that toggle or change your Region default in Settings.

        7 votes
      3. [2]
        Wes
        Link Parent
        As far as I know, Google search requires a region parameter. If there is a way to omit it then I'm not aware of it. I would assume it just falls back to geoip if that information isn't provided.

        As far as I know, Google search requires a region parameter. If there is a way to omit it then I'm not aware of it. I would assume it just falls back to geoip if that information isn't provided.

        4 votes
        1. Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          Well, that's just rude! Thanks anyway.

          As far as I know, Google search requires a region parameter.

          Well, that's just rude!

          Thanks anyway.

          2 votes
      4. mrbig
        Link Parent
        Even if you deregionalized the searches you’d still get results catered to your profile. Startpage is your best bet.

        Even if you deregionalized the searches you’d still get results catered to your profile. Startpage is your best bet.

  4. cos
    Link
    As others have said, you are correct, and you're best off changing search engines. I recommend giving DuckDuckGo or Startpage a try.

    As others have said, you are correct, and you're best off changing search engines. I recommend giving DuckDuckGo or Startpage a try.

    5 votes
  5. Micycle_the_Bichael
    Link
    I know everyone here is going to be suggesting duckduckgo or startpage or similar privacy browsers/search engines. Here's a different one. I use ecosia which is a search engine that uses it's...

    I know everyone here is going to be suggesting duckduckgo or startpage or similar privacy browsers/search engines. Here's a different one. I use ecosia which is a search engine that uses it's profits to help combat deforestation around the world. They go into it more here and publish all their finances and spending so anyone can hold them accountable. Also they say on the page that they are privacy-minded but I will be honest I haven't looked too deeply into it.

    5 votes
  6. moriarty
    Link
    Google is tracking you with cookies (and possibly with IP, depending on your isp) even when you are signed out. One way around it is to not be using Chrome. Duckduckgo, Brave and even Firefox are...

    I use Chrome, but I only sign in when I'm accessing a Google service (usually the Calendar). After I've finished with the service, I sign out. So Google isn't tracking me as a person, it's just tracking my browser's search activity.

    Google is tracking you with cookies (and possibly with IP, depending on your isp) even when you are signed out. One way around it is to not be using Chrome. Duckduckgo, Brave and even Firefox are much more privacy-oriented browsers.
    Another option, per your specific question, is to use a VPN to fool the browser into thinking you're somewhere else.

    4 votes
  7. crdpa
    Link
    Use searx or duckduckgo.

    Use searx or duckduckgo.

    2 votes
  8. [4]
    asep
    Link
    I have the same problem except that I don't speak the language of where I am very well so I always struggle reading articles not in English. What I found works best most of the time is just to...

    I have the same problem except that I don't speak the language of where I am very well so I always struggle reading articles not in English. What I found works best most of the time is just to open up a private window and search Google there. A lot of people are suggesting DDG or other alternative search engines but IMO when I tried them they were basically unusable as Google replacements.

    1 vote
    1. [3]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Does that actually work for you? It doesn't for me and I'm pretty sure that's because Google uses IP address based geo-location. And just doing some testing, that does seem to be the case, as...

      Does that actually work for you? It doesn't for me and I'm pretty sure that's because Google uses IP address based geo-location. And just doing some testing, that does seem to be the case, as whether I am using a private browser window or not, it makes no difference, I get the same results in the same order.

      E.g. If I search for "Uber news" on google, a Canadian news site (globalnews.ca) is the first result, private window or not. But when I use my VPN to connect to the UK, I get the BBC first in both cases.

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        asep
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I just got back to your comment but the private window thing works for me, I just checked it. I normally use Firefox on my laptop and it worked but trying it on my phone just now on chrome didn't...

        I just got back to your comment but the private window thing works for me, I just checked it. I normally use Firefox on my laptop and it worked but trying it on my phone just now on chrome didn't work so maybe it's something related to that.

        1 vote
        1. cfabbro
          Link Parent
          Hmm, I was using Firefox on Desktop. Weird. It must be based on more than just IP and cookies somehow then.

          Hmm, I was using Firefox on Desktop. Weird. It must be based on more than just IP and cookies somehow then.

  9. unknown user
    Link
    Yet another person here to say use another search engine. It'll be good for your privacy too!

    Yet another person here to say use another search engine. It'll be good for your privacy too!