What does "Try without personalization" mean on Google Search?
"Try without personalization" is a link Google shows at the bottom of a search results page when your results are personalized. Clicking or tapping it reloads the same search without using information from your Google Account, such as your Search history, so you can see what the results look like when they are not tailored to you. It is a one-time view: your settings stay exactly as they were.
This guide explains what the "Results are personalized" notice means, what the link changes and what it does not, and how to turn off personalized Google results permanently if you prefer them that way.
What "Results are personalized" means on Google
"Results are personalized" means Google used information tied to you to shape the results page. When you are signed in and personalization is on, Google can draw on your Search Services History and other saved activity in your account. Google says personalization sometimes changes the order of results and can change which content blocks appear, for example showing videos higher if you usually watch videos.
Personalization is not limited to signed-in users. Google has a separate signed-out setting called Search customization, which tailors results in that browser even without an account.
The footer notice is there so you can tell at a glance whether personalization played a part. Google introduced the "try without personalization" link in late 2024 and said the change "makes it easier for people to get an accurate understanding of whether their results have been personalized" (as quoted by Search Engine Land). The link appears on desktop and mobile. After you click it, the footer reads "Results are not personalized." Many searchers, especially in the UK, spell it "try without personalisation"; it is the same link.
If you want to check what Google already knows about you before deciding, review your saved activity first; our guide on deleting all of your Google history walks through it.
What changes when you click "Try without personalization"
Clicking "Try without personalization" removes account-based tailoring from that one search and nothing more. Here is what happens and what stays the same, based on Google's Personalization and Google Search results help page:
- Results for the current query are reloaded without using your search history or other account activity.
- Your settings do not change. The next search you run is personalized again if personalization is on.
- Stored activity is not paused or deleted.
- Your Search and app preferences are untouched.
- Saved items such as Collections, followed stocks and home and work addresses remain.
Do not expect a completely different page. Many queries return the same top results either way, because personalization is applied only when Google thinks it adds something. The link is most useful as a comparison tool: if the order shifts noticeably, your history was influencing what you saw.
What Google still uses without personalization
Even non-personalized Google results use the current context of your search. Google lists these signals as still active when personalization is off:
- Location: your IP address or device location, so "pizza near me" or the weather still returns local results.
- Language and device type: to show the page in your language and fit your screen.
- Recent searches: to understand what you are looking for right now.
Autocomplete is a common point of confusion. Turning off personalization does not disable Autocomplete, and your past searches can still appear as you type while Search Services History is on. To stop that, manage the history setting itself or delete the entries in My Activity.
Results can also differ between two people for reasons unrelated to personalization, such as time of the search, language settings or regional versions of Google. Google explains this on its page about why your Google Search results differ from others. Region is one of those factors; see how to check the country Google associates with your account.
How to turn off personalized Google Search results permanently
To disable personalization in Google Search for good, turn off Personalized Recommendations in Search services in your Google Account. Google's Manage Personalized Recommendations page gives these steps:
- Open your Google Account at myaccount.google.com and sign in.
- Select Data & privacy.
- Select Personalization settings.
- Turn off Personalized Recommendations in Search services.
The shortcut google.com/search-personalization opens the same switch directly. This is the page many people reach when they search for that address.
Google is rolling out these new settings gradually. They replace the older Web & App Activity and Search Personalization controls for Search services, and your new settings start from your previous choices. If your account does not show Personalized Recommendations yet, Web & App Activity still controls history and personalization.
When you are signed out, open Search settings on google.com and turn off Search customization. That setting applies to the browser you use, so repeat it on each browser and device.
Turning off personalization does not delete anything already saved. To remove stored data as well, see how to delete your Google activity automatically.
Personalized vs non-personalized: which option fits
The right choice depends on whether you want convenience or a neutral view. The table compares the three ways to get Google results without personalization.
| Option | Scope | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Try without personalization link | One search, settings unchanged | Checking whether history shaped a result |
| Personalized Recommendations off | All Search services in your account | A permanent, neutral results page while signed in |
| Search customization off | Signed-out use in one browser | Shared or signed-out computers |
Power users have long added the parameter pws=0 to a Google results URL for the same effect; Search Engine Land notes it has worked since at least 2009. Google does not document it as a setting, so treat it as a shortcut that may change, and use the account switch when you want a reliable result.
Keeping personalization on has real benefits: local results, faster access to sites you visit often and recommendations in the Google app. If you mainly want privacy rather than neutral rankings, combine the switch with history controls, or use a search engine that does not build a profile, as covered in our guide to Chrome's choose your search engine prompt.
FAQ
Does "Try without personalization" log me out of Google?
No. You stay signed in, and only the current results page is shown without account-based tailoring.
Why don't my results change when I click it?
Google applies personalization only when it thinks it helps, so many queries look identical either way. Location, language and device still shape both versions.
Does turning off personalization delete my search history?
No. Your Search Services History stays saved until you pause or delete it in My Activity.
Related: use Google Search without AI Overviews automatically, get rid of Google's "Before you continue" prompt
Google is so bad… I will tell it to everybody using my TikTok, my Facebook, my WhatsApp, my Telegram, my Instagram, my LinkedIn, my Shiteverywhere and so fu****** forth amazing stranger things from other amazing free privacy sites. LOL all yourselves. Idiocracy at its highest levels.
I don’t use any of Google services. Should I, or a visitor using my PC, wish to have Google Search results then search will be performed with either a SearXNG meta-search engine, either with the Startpage search engine.
This Google Search new feature is relevant of an increasing number of users who aspire to have neutral search results for their queries. I guess many other users simply ignore that Google Search results are biased by what Google knows of them (as well as by their IP’s corresponding location, I’ve been told, not sure though) … but, more importantly perhaps, no doubt many users just like to be given tailored answers to their queries, I don’t know why, makes them feel important or is it that they are of those who dislike information in contradiction with their beliefs?
Google is so widespread that not being logged is not enough, avoiding its services is not enough as well, the company tracks all it can get a grip on, lovers or not. One need to block access to Google servers as well when accessed as 3rd-party, a tool like uBlock Origin together with LocalStorage (a web browser extension that emulates Content Delivery Networks to improve your online privacy and, when it comes to Google, will deliver fonts, scripts required by some sites and bypass access to Google servers).
“When the goin’ get’s tough, the tough get goin’
When the goin’ gets rough, the tough get rough”
That’s the only way to do it with Google Master Spy.
Say when looking up LocalStorage as an extension addon many similarly named results appear, would you mind clarifying a bit? Best wishes
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/localcdn/njdfdhgcmkocbgbhcioffdbicglldapd?hl=en&frame=0&nav=1
@Ipnonymous… my fault : the extension I was referring to is named ‘LocalCDN’, whilst LocalStorage is of course the Web Storage object we know, though some extensions’ names refer to it when the purpose of their code is related to LocalStorage, i.e. ‘LocalStorage Editor’, another extension I use.
So, ‘LocalCDN’ it is, available on AMO at :
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/localcdn-fork-of-decentraleyes/
It is indeed a fork of the ‘Decentraleyes’ extension which initiated the concept. LocalCDN handles far more CDN’s and is often updated. I strongly advise to choose ‘LicalCDN’ rather than ‘Decentraleyes’.
I’m neither ill nor in love, so I have no excuse :) Sorry for that.
Does “&peek_pws=0” work with DDG?
I do not think so. DDG pulls the data from Bing, right?
I do not have a personal preference but do think at times I like a more neutral search where results are not based on my personal data. Mostly though, I find that personal data does narrow results in a positive way most of the time.
…i prefer non censoring, none sponsoring results… (for example it is near impossible to get alternative results about health products or critical information about side effects of pharmaceuticals)(Covid was the master censor tool which brought to light many a nasty thing about the power of corporations, health organisations, governments) …. such as they were with the very Google perhaps +10 years ago.
You’re maybe mixing thing up. If you are talking about Covid, it is a disease, not a pharmaceutical. Covid was also a brand-new thing, and side effects from covid medications were slow to appear online for a multitude of reasons (partially for highly suspicious reasons, but only partially). If you take any brand-new medication, chances are that list of side effects is going to very minimal or almost none-existent. All pre-launch testing through FDA is mostly done to make sure that medication is not deadly/toxic/cancerous and find level of usefulness to alleviate/cure disease. But after any medication stayed on the market for more than 5 years, the side effect list for it on most medical websites is pretty thorough.
Some doctors tried to prescribe alternative pharmaceutical, but doctors were just guessing. It’s like if a doctor knew medication for one snake venom, and he would try to prescribe the same medication for venom from another snake from the same snake family. It works 50/50 at best. People were demonized for taking those medications tough. That was not right.
But if you are talking about side effects of Covid itself, the first and second wave of Covid seemed to be hitting dozens of unrelated body organs very hard, sometimes in very young people. Each new mutation was affecting new organs. If you listen to local TV news, they did report all of those illness effects as they were disclosed by hospitals. It was a chaotic/messy thing. Nobody was prepared for it. Main medical websites, on the other hand, tried to play it very cool for whatever reason and aggregate as little information as possible.
In conclusion. There were attempts to seep some stuff under the rug. If is the same for any Government department or large corporation, why Health Department be any different? But it was just part of the story. Health System is not designed to process information fast and be consumer friendly. Typical processes of acquiring and displaying medical information takes years without any cover-ups. I highly doubt that result would have been extremely different eve if Government/Pharma told the truth. But one thing would be different for sure, the level of trust between citizens and their Government would be in a much better position.
PS: You are right about Google. Google shadowbans a lot of websites that do not play ball. Who is guilty? 50% Google and 50% all of us consumers. When a company has 90% market share in search, it’s stupid not to think that company is not going to work for the consumer. So if you’re still using Google, then expect the same thing to continue.
I have not tried this, so not sure it works.
The goolge help site states that:
To turn off personalization while you’re signed in, turn off “Personalize Search.” When you turn off Web & App Activity, you also turn off personalization. To disable personalization while you’re signed out of your Google Account, turn off “Search customization is on.”
The bigger question is, unless somebody uses Google Docs, why they would be logged in to Google? I still use Google as a secondary search engine, but I never log in. I manage Google settings with userscripts. For example, I use scripts on Google to remove native ads, remove tracking links, remove Google Doodles, disable safe search, remove nag prompts, enable Google advanced search assistant, highlight already visited links. You can find Google userscript for almost any account setting.