Google is causing a stir with an unexpectedly announced innovation in the iOS app: The integrated browser in the search engine’s iPhone and iPad apps automatically displays links on third-party websites that always point back to Google services. In a screenshot published by Google, the in-app browser automatically marks the text “Osaka Castle” as a link, tapping it leads to the corresponding entry in Google Maps. There you can find offers from which Google usually makes money, such as hotel bookings or ticket sales.
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Google links to places, people and things
Thus, users get additional information from Google’s Knowledge Graph, A community manager for the group explained in a help entry.It is believed that such Google links are smuggled to sites or places, people and things.
Google Apps smuggles links to Osaka Castle into the integrated browser.
(Image: Screenshot Google Help page)
According to the screenshot, the automatically set links are not specifically marked, but they at least appear to be different from other links set by the website operator. In Germany, the example shown by Google could not be recreated on a Mac and the i editorial team’s iPhone; There did not appear to be an automatic link to “Osaka Castle”. It is possible that this function has so far only been implemented in other regions.
Apparently neither users nor website providers have control over unwanted links – Google calls this function “page annotations”. For the latter, the search engine operator only offers: To request an opt-out laterIt remains to be seen whether there are plans to allow websites to participate in sales generated through such links – no such thing has been announced.
Google under the regulator’s microscope
The timing of the introduction of such a function is surprising: as a gatekeeper, Google is already being closely monitored in the EU and recently integrated hotel booking into search results as a test following complaints from competitors. The Google Maps view with options has been removed. To break Google’s monopoly on search engines, the US Justice Department recently proposed taking apart the Chrome browser. Furthermore, Google should be prohibited from paying billions of dollars to other browser makers to install Google as the default search engine – such as Apple’s Safari or Mozilla’s Firefox.
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