Google app working to give you control over how searches influence your feed (APK teardown)

If you’re an Android user looking to catch up on the day’s stories, the ubiquitous Google app is a quick way to browse headlines and explore whatever catches your eye. More than just highlighting the latest stuff to trend, the app tracks interests you’ve saved, stories you’ve liked, and topics you’ve followed in order to tailor its feed specifically for you. Now it looks like the Google app is getting one more tool like this in its arsenal.

We’re looking at version 15.36.40.29.arm64 of the Google app, where we’ve found a fresh option for configuring the newsfeed. Google has created a new “Updates from searches” option promising “Summaries from the freshest top stories on your interests.” If you’re not super engaged with the app, and don’t spend a lot of time liking posts or setting up topics to watch, simply using your search habits to dictate the stories you’re probably interested in reading sounds like it makes a lot of sense.

Right now, Google appears to be selectively enabling this toggle, and while we’re seeing it on some devices running this release, on others we’ve had to do a little behind-the-scenes manipulation to get the option to show up in the app — even when signed in to the same account. That might represent a staggered roll out, or it could suggest that Google is still testing this mode and deciding what it wants to do with it.

Once active, you’ll start seeing more content in your feed based on recent searches. Honestly, we probably would have assumed that Google was using search history for discovery purposes like this anyway, but it’s nice to get an actual, selectable option like this — especially if we’re searching for random (read: embarrassing) stuff we definitely don’t want polluting our news feed.