• CNET, Tuesday, March 6, 2012 12:12 PM

Continuing to synchronize its services, Google will now let users save their searches across various devices using a universal “recent” icon. "Next time you are heading to a place you have recently searched for, no need to worry if you can't remember the address or phone number," Google software engineer Junichi Uekawa wrote in a Monday blog post.

Preempting privacy concerns, Uekawa also noted: "We provide this new convenience feature for users who have Web History enabled and are logged into Google when doing their search." As CNet explains, “This type of cross-device unification fits right in with Google’s new privacy policy, announced in January, which gives the company explicit rights to ‘combine personal information’ across multiple products and services.”

As CNet notes, some users applauded the broad unification of data across services and platforms, while others said change was too invasive. Google, meanwhile, is sticking with its story that these changes only mean one thing: convenience for users. "Calling, getting directions or seeing details about the places you just searched for is now only one tap away," Uekawa wrote on Monday. According to Uekawa, the search information saved with the "recent" icon should be available to users for about 24 hours.

Read the whole story at CNET »