Google Search Query Minimizer Bookmarklet

… is a bookmarklet that removes everything but the actual search query from Google search URLs. That is, all query string parameters except for the q (query) parameter are stripped from the URL. The page is then reloaded with the stripped URL.

Example

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=de-de&q=test&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Google Search Query Minimizer: Before

becomes

http://www.google.com/search?q=test
Google Search Query Minimizer: After

Explanation

A typical Google URL (i. e. searching for test) for me looks like this:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=de-de&q=test&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

This URL contains much more information than the thing you were actually googling for ("test"). For example, it encodes:

  • The browser (client) you were using to do this search (in my example: Safari)
  • The language environment (locale) of your browser (in my example: de-de, which means Germany)
  • Input and output text encodings (in my example, both are UTF-8)

But this is just a simple example; there can be a lot more such information in other cases.

What's the point?

  • You get a much shorter URL (useful for Twitter etc.)
  • The user-specific metadata that is encoded into the search URL is neither required by nor applicable to the next person who clicks on the link
  • If you're paranoid about privacy, nothing other than your actual search term is disclosed via the URL

How to install and use

Drag the following Bookmarklet to your browser's bookmark bar:

Google Search Query Minimizer

Then, whenever you want to minimize a Google search URL, click on the Bookmarklet, and voilà, there's your Google search page with minimized URL, ready to be copied and used elsewhere.

License

Google Search Query Minimizer was written by Niels Heidenreich 20090225.

License: Creative Commons BY NC SA 3.0