Google is encrypting searches made in China, in an attempt to circumvent the nations ‘great firewall’ and censorship, and it is expected to roll this out everywhere eventually. The search giant says this is part of its expansion of improved privacy technology, aimed at hampering government surveillance globally.
The Washington Post reports that last summer’s National Security Agency (NSA) revelations made Google realize it had to ‘strengthen its networks’ and ‘increase the number of its services that are encrypted by default’. Encrypting search follows its decision to encrypt all internet traffic between its data centers following the Snowden leaks.
What does this mean for you? In terms of using Google search every day, very little, but as Google does keep information on searches, you can feel safer about that data storage. Unless you turn it off, Google saves your search history, which can give you a better, more personalized experience. Encrypting this data can only be good news for everyone’s security.
RELATED STORIES
- NSA planned to infect millions of computers with malware
- WhatsApp claims Android security flaws are “overstated”
- GCHQ intercepted 1.8 million Yahoo! webcam images
[Source: Washington Post]
