Google yesterday launched a new feature, +1 ( Plus One ) , which is on similar lines of Facebook Like and Twitter Recommendations but plays a major role when it comes to search results. So for example if you made a search on a product and this feature is turned on for you, a Plus One Button appears before the titles and it might have information that your friend or any connection also recommended it. This creates a sense of trust so even if there is a site which is below the top result but has your connection trust, might be more interesting to you.
Video of +1
Overall I feel positive towards it because this is not something new. Since months Google Results had already been showing recommendations using Twitter and Facebook Data which is recommended by my friends there. If you take a look at your Social Circle in your Google Profile, you will be surprised that you can actually find how you are connected with your friends which is more like discovery stuff for me.
Said that Google also says that :
+1 personalization on non-Google sites allows Google to tailor content and ads to you across the Web, based on your Google profile, +1 activity, and social connections. Google does this without sharing your information with outside websites
Now if you are kind of person who have always hated this kind of stuff which breaches your privacy in certain fashion like on Facebook, I am putting down some relevent information on how you can control +1 for yourself.
How to enable or disable +1 from your profile ?
For using +1, you need to have a Google Account, so when you click on +1 on a website or on a search result if you don’t have you are asked so. Now if that is the case with you +1 is not enabled for you and you need not to do anything.
However if you can click +1 the first thing Google will ask is if you want personalized content tailored ads, you can set no here but if you want to disable that later, follow the steps :
- Go to your Google Accounts Settings.
- Under Personal Settings you will see an option labeled as +1 on non-Google Sites
- Click Edit and there you will see option to disable it if not done before.
Remember, disabling here only means you will not see any tailored content and ads based on recommendations by your connections not removal of Plus One Button. You will still see them but just count which will help you decide where to go.
How to see and remove all my +1 recommendations I made till now ?
The answer again is in your Google Account Profile. Go to https://profiles.google.com/ and you should see a new tab labeled as +1 under your profile. The good part is Google has set this to be seen only by you. So if you want to share what you are recommending, you will have to manually turn it on.
- Check the box which says “Show the tab on my profile to share”
- Use the cross icons to remove the recommendations made.
Also while on a website or search result if you have accidentally click on +1 button, click it again to remove your recommendations from it.
How to find number of +1 recommendation for a website ?
There is no official widget or counter yet, though I have heard Google Analytic might have some strong integration about it. Till then you can try a chrome extension which just founds out the count of +1 for any website you are visiting.
