Google has added a useful “About this result” menu to its search results. The new menu includes contextual information that you can use to check whether you are receiving expert opinions from a trusted source, whether a job posting is recent or whether the site you are about to click on is safe.
US users can access Google Search’s new “About this result” menu on desktop and mobile right now. Works on all browsers, on Android’s built-in Google search and on the Google iOS app. However, the information cannot be viewed immediately – you need to click on the stacked three dots icon next to a website name to open the “About this result” information card.
Google says most—But not all – the search results will now have the “About these results” card. For those who do, you will see a brief description of the site taken from Wikipedia. If there is no Wikipedia entry for the page, the description is obtained from one of Google’s services, although it is not as detailed. At a minimum, you’ll see the first time that Google has indexed the page. Google also cites all sources of any information shown on the card.
Checking a website’s “About this result” card can also keep you safe online. The card will say “Your connection to this website is secure” if you are using HTTPS, which is important to keep your personal data safe while browsing. Being able to check for a secure connection in advance is useful, no matter what you’re looking for, but especially if you look at danger zone beyond the first page or two of results.
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Finally, the quick links at the bottom of the card can take you to the privacy settings of your Google account and information about how the Google web crawler works. Some sites will also have a link to quickly search for similar results, or a link to the most recent cached version of the page, if you’ve already visited it.
Note that the “About this result” feature is still in beta, so some information may be incomplete and the feature may not always work correctly. There is a link to “Send feedback on this information” to Google if you find errors or inaccuracies.