Earlier this year, we announced that your Google app for iOS got faster. Now buckle up, because today, we’re adding three new features that will make your app more private, video-friendly and stable.

More control with incognito mode
Your searches are your business. That’s why we’ve added the ability to search privately with incognito mode in the Google app for iOS. When you have incognito mode turned on in your settings, your search and browsing history will not be saved. And for added security, you can enable Touch ID for incognito mode, ensuring that only you can re-enter your existing incognito session if you exit the app.


Watch YouTube videos in Search
Watching YouTube videos right from Search has never been so simple. Skip the extra step before you break into dance to your favorite music video or before you learn a thing or two in the latest how-to. No new web pages + less load time = more fun.

Keep your searching stable
Finally, we have made some improvements under the hood of your app. These updates will make the app twice as reliable and less likely to crash, which means more searches and fewer sighs.

We hope you enjoy these latest updates to your Google app for iOS. As always, we welcome feedback to help make your app even better.

Posted by Unni Narayanan, Director, Product Management

¡Hola! Desplazarse hacia abajo para leer este mensaje en español -Ed.
On the eve of National Voter Registration Day, we’re doing our part to encourage American voters to get registered for the 2016 election. We've already added in-depth information in Search for registration and how to vote, and now we're adding this same information in Spanish. Now both Spanish and English speakers will be able to get custom, state-by-state information on key registration deadlines, when to get to the polls, and even steps on how to vote early or by mail. We hope this feature helps simplify the registration process for more American voters.

By helping more people get registered, we're also helping ensure more people get to the polls and vote. The majority of Americans who register to vote end up voting — according to the US Census Bureau, in 2012, 86 percent of those who registered also voted in the November election.


Today's Google Doodle encourages people to get registered in time for National Voter Registration Day

YouTube creators also want you to head to the polls and #voteIRL. Tune in to this playlist to see how you can register to vote in the amount of time it takes Ryan Seacrest to host a radio show or The Fung Bros to shoot hoops. Surprising fact: it only takes one minute and 34 seconds! Once you’ve registered, join us in encouraging others along the voting process by sharing a post with #IRegistered on social media.

Registering to vote is just the first step toward casting your ballot in this year’s election. We hope that you’ll be inspired to learn more about the candidates, the issues, and the voting process — and make your voice heard in 2016!

Posted by Jonathan Betz, Engineering Manager, Civic Engagement



En la víspera del Día Nacional de Registro de Votantes, estamos haciendo nuestra parte para animar a los votantes estadounidenses para registrarse para las elecciones del 2016. Ya hemos añadido información detallada en búsqueda de como registrarte y cómo votar, y ahora estamos añadiendo esa misma información en español.

Ahora, tanto los hablantes de español e inglés podrán obtener información personalizada, estado por estado sobre las fechas clave de registro, horarios para llegar a las urnas, e incluso los pasos necesarios para votar temprano o por correo. Esperamos que esta función ayude a simplificar el proceso de registro para más votantes estadounidenses.


Al ayudar a que más personas se registren, también estamos ayudando a asegurar que más personas lleguen a las urnas y voten. La mayoría de los estadounidenses que se registran para votar terminan ejerciendo su voto - según la Oficina del Censo de Estados Unidos, en el año 2012, el 86 por ciento de los que se registraron también votaron en las elecciones de noviembre.


El Google Doodle de hoy anima a la gente para que se registren a tiempo como parte del Día Nacional de Registro de Votantes

Los creadores de YouTube también quieren que acudas a las urnas y voten en vida real con la campaña #voteIRL. Te recomendamos sintonizar esta lista de videos para aprender cómo puedes registrarte para votar casi en la misma cantidad de tiempo que le toma a Ryan Seacrest presentar su programa de radio o a los Fung Bros jugar baloncesto. De hecho, te sorprenderá saber que: ¡sólo te tomará un minuto y 34 segundos! Una vez que te hayas registrado, te invitamos a acompañarnos a animar a otros a lo largo del proceso de votar, compartiendo un post utilizando #IRegistered en tus redes sociales.

Registrarse para votar es sólo el primer paso para emitir tu voto en las elecciones de este año. ¡Esperamos que te inspires a aprender más sobre los candidatos, los temas, y el proceso de votación - y al mismo tiempo hacer oír tu voz en el 2016!

Publicado por Jonathan Betz, Gerente de Ingeniería, Participación Cívica

Along with many others in the open source Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, we’ve been working to make the mobile web experience faster. In February, we launched AMP in the “Top Stories” section of Google Search, delivering news in a fast and reliable way. In August, we previewed linking to AMPs across the entire mobile search results page. Today we’re excited to announce that we’re rolling out that faster experience to users across the world.

Now when you search on your mobile device, you’ll see a label that indicates a page is AMP’d. This doesn’t change Search results but will show you which sites have pages that are ready to load lightning fast.

Today, the median time it takes for an AMP page to load from Google Search is less than one second. Beyond just saving you time with fast loading pages, AMP will also save you data -- AMP pages on Search use 10 times less data than the equivalent non-AMP page.

To date we have over 600 million AMP documents created by sites such as eBay (US), Reddit (US), Shopify (CA), Konga (Nigeria), WikiHow (US), Cybercook (Brazil), Skyscanner (UK), and many more from all over the world (232 locales and 104 languages). These pages cover retail, travel, recipe, general knowledge and entertainment. That’s a lot of fast-loading pages!

To find out more about AMP, check out ampproject.org.

Posted by David Besbris, VP Google Search

With only 54 days until Americans head to the polls, interest in the U.S. presidential election is at an all-time high. In fact, election-related search interest is up 240% in 2016 compared to a similar point during the 2012 election cycle. And those trends around search interest tell an interesting story, revealing the candidates, moments and issues people are most interested in. To make it easier to explore this data, we created the Google Trends Election Hub.

Starting today, the Trends Elections Hub will offer a real-time pulse of the U.S. elections based on Google Trends. On the Hub, you can explore how people are searching for the candidates and political issues across the country. For example, if you explore search interest in the Libertarian party, you’ll see that it’s more searched now than in the 2008 and 2012 elections. The Hub also will help you to find insights about this election at a new, granular level. For instance, while the economy is the most searched issue on average across the swing state of Florida, immigration is more searched in southern counties in the state.

At the top of the Hub, you can click to explore the Presidential candidates, Vice Presidential candidates and campaign tickets.


Each candidate and ticket page displays search interest in the candidate or set of candidates across the U.S., as well as top trending related searches and featured insights.



The Election Hub also features county-level data for the first time. Click on a state on the U.S. map, and you can find data around search interest for a Presidential candidate and issues at the county level.


We’ll also be sharing search trends around the biggest questions Americans have about the voting experience. The map below shows a breakdown of how -- and where -- people across the country are searching for voter registration.


Beyond the Hub, you can see Google Trends data across some of your everyday news sites, including AP Election Buzz, RealClearPolitics and ProPublica’s Election DataBot.

With record online engagement around this historic 2016 election, we have a unique opportunity tell a story about the U.S. electorate through top of mind interests and questions in Search. And as Americans all across the country get ready to head to the polls, we are excited for the Trends Elections Hub to play a role in telling that story. We hope you check it out!

Posted By, Lisa Creed, Product Manager

If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it: your favorite art contest is back! Today we’re kicking off the 2016 Doodle 4 Google contest, where art-loving K-12 students from across the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico are invited to bring their imagination to life in a doodle of the Google logo, using any medium they choose. The winning masterpiece will hang on the Google homepage for a day, where millions will enjoy it.

This year’s contest is going to be one for the record books; the future and the ways to depict it are limitless. That’s why we’ll have an all-star group of judges including our very own Google Doodlers help select the National Winner. In addition to the homepage showcase, the winner will receive $30,000 towards a college scholarship, and the opportunity to work with the Doodle team at the Googleplex in Mountain View. As an added bonus: Their home school will get to spend $50,000 on technology to help foster the next generation of professionals (and who knows, maybe future Googlers, too!).



Submissions are open until December 2, 2016. So for you parents, teachers, babysitters, camp counselors or non-profit leaders out there: Encourage your kids and students to apply. We can’t wait to see what wonders await in their dreams for the future.

And now, we bid you farewell as we’re Van Goghing, Goghing, Gone. Posted by Ryan Germick, Google Doodle Team Lead

Fall fashion season is here — from New York to London, Milan and Paris, the big trends are about to debut at Fashion Weeks around the world. And this year in Google Search on your mobile phone, you can see the latest styles straight from the runway, hear directly from the designers, shop your favorite looks, see the schedule of events, find related news and follow the action like you’re sitting in the front row — or even backstage.

Straight from the runway and beyond
With partners like BFA and firstVIEW, we’ll not only be showing looks from the runways, but highlights from the entire spectacle, right in Search. From backstage snapshots of the biggest shows, front-row images of your favorite celebs, street scenes, and of course, the parties, you won’t miss a moment.

Hear from the designers
Fashion Week is all about the designers: their inspiration, their creativity and their new collections. As part of an experimental feature, dozens of international designers and brands like Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney will be posting on Google Search, sharing inside information before, during and after the shows.


Shop your favorite looks
You'll also be able to shop the latest styles from Fashion Week in Search. Not only can you buy directly off the runway from designers like Burberry and Tom Ford, you can shop the current season by Prada, Christopher Kane and others. And you’ll be able to get inspiration on what to wear from images of front row looks, runway shots and insiders attending the shows.

As Fashion Week ramps up over the next week, you’ll start to see these fashion experiences appear in Search.

So this year, let Google be your “ticket” to Fashion Week, right on your mobile phone.

Posted by Cameron Mcknight, Product Manager and Ankita Goel, Product Manager

We use apps to call friends, send messages or listen to music. But sometimes, it’s hard to find exactly what you’re looking for. Today, we’re introducing a new way for you to search for information in your apps on your Android phone.

With this new search mode, called In Apps, you can quickly find content from installed apps. To access this feature, go to the Google app on your Android phone and find the In Apps tab.

A new search mode in the Google app, showing current and upcoming apps

Here are a few examples of what you can do with this new search mode:

• Find your contacts and messages. Easily find the friend you want to catch up with, or the name of the new sushi place that your friend told you about last month — just search for [sushi] and find the message.
• Listen to your favorite running song or watch that sneezing panda video for the 15th time — all in one place.
• Stay organized with your tasks and notes. Want to check off items on your grocery list? No problem, just search for [groceries].

Today this experience works with apps like Gmail, Spotify and YouTube. In the coming months, we’ll also be adding more apps, including Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, Evernote, Glide, Todoist and Google Keep. Searching your personal results happens entirely on your phone, so you can search even when you're not connected to WiFi or cellular data. Only you can see your personal results, and you can control what apps appear by going to Settings within the Google app.

And with the upcoming LG V20 phone, you'll be able to access the new In Apps mode directly with a dedicated shortcut on the homescreen and Second Screen. The LG V20 will be the first smartphone with this dedicated shortcut. In addition to searching apps you have downloaded, on the new LG V20 you’ll also be able to search LG’s pre-installed apps.

A new search mode in the Google app, showing current and upcoming apps

So whether you’re using the new LG V20 or the Google app on your Android phone, finding your favorite tune, that long-lost email or your to-do list is easier than ever before.

Posted by Timo Mertens, Product Manager

Today we’re dealing two new hands from the Google Search deck: solitaire and tic-tac-toe. Now you can play two of the oldest and most popular games for all ages, on desktop and in the Google app.

It’s been said solitaire’s roots are in fortune telling. If that’s true, today your fate rests on your quick wit and the luck of the draw. When you search for “solitaire” on Google, the familiar patience game may test yours!
If you’re looking for something a bit simpler, tic-tac-toe is your best bet. In this game of naughts and crosses, you can select your level of difficulty or even go head to head against a friend. Xs and Os to the winner (hugs and kisses, that is!).
For some other fun tips, try asking Google, “what sound does a pig make?” Or if you’re looking to settle a bet and feeling lucky, “flip a coin” may come in handy.

These are just a sample of the delightful surprises that await you on Google. After all, Search is for so much more than research and practical matters -- it’s for fun, too!

Posted by Stephen Cognetta, Associate Product Manager

As the U.S. prepares to head to the polls, we’re making it easier than ever for everyone to participate in the political process. Last month, we made it simpler for people to register to vote. Now, we’re taking this a step further and introducing a brand new, state-by-state guide for people looking for information on how to vote in November. We’re also sharing some search trends to track the engagement and interest of American voters around the party conventions.

How to vote
Whether you’re a first-time voter, a resident in a new state, or your state laws have changed since the last time you voted, you can now come to Google for information on how to vote in the upcoming election. This new in-depth search result provides information on ID requirements, deadlines, mail-in ballots and early voting. We hope this customized state-by-state guide will help you find the information you need quickly and easily to help get your voice heard.
Search trends
Since releasing our customized voter registration guide in Search last month, we’re seeing millions of people coming to Google to learn more about voting and how to register in the U.S. In fact, compared to the same time four years ago, nationwide searches for voter registration are up 190 percent nationwide.

The map below shows a state-by-state breakdown illustrating how — and where — searches for “voter registration” have changed between 2012 and today. You’ll find some of the highest spikes in the dark green states: California, New York, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts.




We’re committed to making it easy for people to find information, and have their voices heard in November. So we're also making the data that powers our “how to register to vote” and our “how to vote” search results publicly available, so nonprofits and organizations promoting voter education can benefit and expand the reach of this critical information.

We hope these insights and features inspire you to register to vote, exercise your civic duty, and get to the polls in November!

Posted by Emily Moxley, Product Manager, Search

This year's Olympics in Rio brings together 10,500 athletes from 200+ countries to participate in 306 events, from archery to wrestling. To help you get even more out of the Games, we've created a Google Trends Olympic Hub where you can find fun facts, data insights, feature pages on sports and athletes, and more.

Olympics Trends Hub
Throughout the next few weeks, Google Trends will give you a unique view into the games with a new Trends Hub just for the Olympics. There, you’ll be able to see which athletes, events and moments are captivating audiences—and searches—worldwide. For example, which country is searching for beach volleyball the most? Landlocked Switzerland. And the title of most searched grandmother in the world goes to British swimmer Adam Peaty's nan.

Here’s some of what you can expect from Trends over the next few weeks:

• Search insights revealing what the world is wondering about the events—from fencing to synchronized swimming (and every moment in between!)
• Data interactives like our alternative medal table and top searched sports per country
• Trending sports and athletes lists, showing what’s of interest at any given moment

Explore Trends in a new way
As you explore the site, you may notice something else—a new Google Trends Explore page. With a fresh design and features like a color-coded map, you can analyze search data in new ways. For example, you can compare interest in previous Olympic Games over the years:


Every four years, the Olympics captivate the world’s attention. We’re excited to be able to help fans get even more out of the Games with insights from Search.

Posted by Lisa Creed, Product Manager