Gmail messages to appear in Google search results

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Google is working on including messages from your Gmail account in the results when you use its main search engine. While it could be useful for some, it will need incredibly careful handling to avoid further raising privacy concerns.

The company appears to be aware of the possible creepy image it could cause: even though anyone who thinks about it knows that Google is already searching your Gmail account whenever you ask it to, it could still be daunting to see the two sets of results mixed together.


Because of that, Google appears to be testing the user reaction as much as the technology in introducing the feature. For now at least it is an experimental feature that users must specifically go out of their way to activate. It’s also going to keep the Gmail results somewhat separate for now: they’ll appear in a column to the right of the main search results. The list will only show the sender and subject line, with the user clicking on this to open up the full message.

In time Google wants to add specific tools for particular type of information and display the results at the top of the main column. The first of these will be for flights: carry out a Google search related to flights and the system will check your Gmail messages for flight bookings, then list the flights along with any updated status information from the airlines such as delays or cancellations.

Personally I’ll be avoiding the feature as much as possible because there’s a major flaw in the way it works. At the moment, I’m happy for my wife to jump on my computer when she’s passing my office wants to check something quickly and it’s easier than firing up her own laptop or digging out a portable device.

Naturally I trust her not to take advantage of the fact that she could access my Gmail account if I’m still logged in (and frankly she doesn’t have much interest in its contents.) The problem now is that if she’s still dreaming of diamond earrings and carries out a search for the phrase, Google now seems intent on bringing up results that include the confirmation e-mail from the jewelers for her birthday surprise.

And yes, that is a hypothetical example. Sorry love.

Posted in: Google