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SOCW 3302: Critical Thinking

Guide to finding, evaluating, citing appropriate critical sources for social work students

The Filter Bubble

How to "De-Personalize" Search Results

CNET article "Five ways to depersonalize Google search results"

  1. Use Private browsing (available in all major browsers)
  2. If you have a Google account (Gmail, Drive, Google+, etc.) click the globe icon in top-right corner to toggle personalized results off and on.
  3. Use Search Settings to chose Do not use personal results.
  4. Set browser to clear history and delete cookies when closed. Use a new browser for searching
  5. Create your own depersonalized search engine) - only works with Chrome

Additional Suggestions:

  1. Try using DuckDuckGo for searches. Pledges anonymity. Available as a Firefox or Internet Explorer search addon.
  2. Don't click links in Facebook: copy the link and view in a different browser.
  3. Don't stay logged into Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, etc while browsing and searching.

Library databases NEVER apply filters that you are unaware of. Search results are not influenced by previous searches unless YOU decide to leave selected filters in place!