Google improvements are coming, but only to EU customers

Google has published several new features to its range of services, but only available to those in the EU.

Tech companies around the world are making changes to fall in line with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a bill that aims to make digital markets fairer and open. There are various new obligations that tech companies will need to adhere to, ranging from preventing the removal of pre-installed apps on their systems or stopping the tracking of end users outside of their core platforms without user consent.

Several improvements are on the way to Google services in particular along these lines, as announced in a recent blog. As the changes come into effect, EU Google users may start to some changes in how they look and function.

What changes are coming to Google services in the EU?

The changes are across four main areas: consent for link services, changes to search results, choice screens, and data portability.

At the moment, Google shares user data across certain products and services. In the next few weeks, the platform will present EU users with an additional consent banner to confirm whether this data can continue to be shared. It’s worth noting that if you don’t consent, some features will be limited or unusable but you can change your decision at any time.

For search results, many changes are coming to the results page, from grouping links to comparison sites from across the web to query shortcuts designed to help users find what they need faster. This will be especially applicable when comparing things like hotels or bookable services online, with extra information like price comparisons, images, and star ratings available to see directly from the results page.

According to the DMA, Google will also start to show additional choice screens on Android when setting up a device to make Chrome your default search engine, as well as on iOS for desktop devices.

Finally, EU users will be able to download or transfer a copy of their data from more than 80 Google products and services. This is to meet new requirements from the DMA around moving user data to a third-party app or service.

Featured image: PhotoMIX Company; Pexels

Rachael Davis

Freelance Journalist

Rachael Davies
has spent six years reporting on tech and entertainment, writing for publications like the Evening Standard, Huffington Post, Dazed, and more. From niche topics like the latest gaming mods to consumer-faced guides on the latest tech, she puts her MA in Convergent Journalism to work, following avenues guided by a variety of interests. As well as writing, she also has experience in editing as the UK Editor of The Mary Sue , as well as speaking on the important of SEO in journalism at the Student Press Association National Conference. You can find her full portfolio over on Muck Rack or follow her on social media on X.