After the first flush of interest and enthusiasm yesterday, I began thinking of how My Search History will fit into households with shared computers and other situations vulnerable to privacy infringements. The scenarios aren't good. The major problem is that Google has not established a distinct account structure for My Search History (MSH). If you are logged into Gmail or Google Groups, you are logged into MSH. Privacy aside, this inevitably leads to confused histories in households with multiple Gmail accounts. After two days, this has already become an issue in my home, where my wife and I each use Gmail. Another problem with Gmail unlocking MSH is that it's not easily apparent when MSH is turned on. Yes, there is a My Search History link in the upper-right corner, but who examines the Google home page before launching a search? Even if you do, there is no OFF switch on the home page; you must click through that My Search History link to find an inconspicuous Pause switch.

Google is used so often, by so many people, for so many different things, in such an unthinking manner, that the sudden and mostly invisible documentation of search history is almost subterfuge on Google's part. You can say "Don't use it," but if you check your Gmail or Groups, you ARE using it. Marissa Mayer of Google is quoted in a Wired piece as saying, "This isn't for someone who is particularly sloppy about signing in and signing off. You have to have very good computer hygiene to use this." Way too good. Google could have helped by creating non-overlapping accounts. As of now, it is too easy to inadvertantly leave a trail of bread crumbs during your searches, leaving that trail perfectly visible to anyone who sits at the same computer in a home.

Search is a private activity. A9 and Jeeves both provide some degree of personalization, but also provide dedicated sign-in paths. Google seems guided more by its desire to amass registrations than by a desire to sensibly protect its users. Evil? Careless? Whatever; it's not good.