Firefox 14 Protects Search Queries from 'Bad Guys,' Not Advertisers

18.07.2012
The protects Google search queries from hackers, but not from advertisers.

Basically, Google has designed its HTTPS encryption feature to encrypt your search query under most circumstances&just not if you click on an ad that appears on your search results page. that when you click on a search result from its HTTPS site, your search terms are encrypted and not sent to the target site.

But it's different when you click on an ad.

"If you click on an ad on the results page, your browser will send an unencrypted referrer that includes your query to the advertiser's site," Google writes on its Inside Search page.

This exception has been made to make advertisers happy: Google likes to equate advertiser satisfaction with customer satisfaction.

"This provides a mechanism to the advertiser so that the advertiser can improve the relevancy of the ads that are presented to you," Google writes.