Google’s Unannounced Location Aware Search

Google’s Behshad Behzadi was delivering a presentation last June 9 at the Search Marketing Expo in Paris about some of the new features that will be available with Google Now on Tap. Along with other information presented at the recent Google I/O 2015, Behzadi also demonstrated a previously unannounced Location Aware Search, a feature coming to Google Now.

Google Now on Tap brings contextual awareness to any app currently running on your phone. This basically means that your device will function or operate based on your current parameters; your location being one of them. This will enable you to ask Google certain information without having to specify or name things. For example, you can ask Google, “What’s the phone number for this place?” and it will provide you with the information along with options for nearby establishments. This intuitive function saves you time by skipping a step and sparing you (and Google Now) the tedious task of having to enunciate obscure locations in foreign places. The amount of information Google is trying to collect is now making sense in terms of application.

While some users find this update alarming or invasive, you essentially pinpoint your location through your social media updates anyway. Of course, you can always turn off your location at your phone settings and log out of your chrome browser if you don’t feel like sharing the stuff you search. Google is trying to get as much information as possible but it still respects your privacy whether you’re an upcoming artist trying to get the world to notice you or an international super spy trying to stay under the radar. Apple may boast that their new Proactive Assistant provides information without any strings attached, but Google, at the very least, gives you an option to waive them in exchange for a better service.