New Google Feed will delve even deeper into your data

Google has taken control of its knowledge of you to personalise its mobile app even further with the launch of the new Google Feed.

Replacing what was once Google Now, Google Feed will use even more complicated algorithms to present users with news it thinks they will enjoy.

These algorithms know which of your interests you’ve cultivated for years, and which are passing phases.

“For example, if you’re a photography enthusiast but just casually interested in fitness, your feed will show that,” engineering VP Shashi Thakur writes.

The interface will remain much the same — the few changes include articles being headed by their respective topics, and a snazzy follow button that pops in search results so that you can quickly add a new interest to the feed.

Fielding criticisms that Google is cultivating an echo chamber and only giving people articles that substantiate their preexisting views, Thakur writes that the feed will provide information from “diverse perspectives”. It will also be integrating its fact checking feature from Google News “when available”.

Google Feed will use even more complicated algorithms to present users with news it thinks they will enjoy

A company spokesman told Mashable that “sensitive topics” will not be included in the Feed. These include those that denote religion, sexual orientation, and, yes, even porn searches — though if you’re worried about a topic showing up it may be best to go through Incognito Mode.

The Feed will also have an opt-out feature for those who don’t want it at all.

Many have reported that Google Feed is a direct attempt to compete with Facebook’s News Feed — right down to the name — but representatives were quick to shut that notion down.

“This feed is really about your interests… It’s not really about what your friends are interested in,” Ben Gomes, a Google vice president for engineering, said according to Fortune.

This is Google’s first big change after the controversial Google News update that had many users up in arms about usability issues among others.

The response to Feed has so far been relatively quiet — likely due to the fact that the change is minor on the user’s side, and that it is currently only available in the US.

Google Feed will be rolled out internationally in the coming weeks.