Page Annotations Feature Discontinued On iOS: Google’s Ethical Attempts To Appease Publishers!

Google has recently decided to discontinue its Page Annotations feature. So, this feature is used to divert traffic to Google’s search results from websites. 

Key Highlights:

• Google has decided to discontinue its Page Annotations feature. 
• Page Annotations are a controversial feature because they can divert organic traffic to search results back from websites. 
• The Page Annotations features only lasted for four months before being discontinued. 

Google has already discontinued this feature in its iOS app, adding search links automatically to the web pages instead. 

The Page Annotations feature was first introduced towards the end of last year. At the time, the feature was converting certain website content into search links on Google without the consent of the publisher. 

The most recent updates confirmed that the feature doesn’t exist anymore. 

The Page Annotations Feature Was Controversial And Short-Lived:

First launched in November, the feature gained attention for its ability to obtain traffic back on Google’s search results from websites. 

How? The Page Annotations feature could convert a website’s on-page text into clickable links automatically, directing the audience back to Google’s search results. 

Unlike Google’s other similar features, this was also based on an opt-out model – this meant that publishers did not have to opt in. 

So, if you did not want the search engine giant to transform your content into tappable links then you had to fill up and submit their opt-out form. As per Google’s policies, the changes would be reflected within a month. 

Silent Removal:

The feature was officially documented on ‘Control what you share with Google.’ However, on a closer look, we found that the search engine giant has removed all mentions of this feature from the official documentation. 

Moreover, the updated document highlights different approaches for publishers and website owners to control the appearance of their content in search results. However, this documentation does not mention the Page Annotations feature once. 

In addition, the thread announcing the feature on the search engine’s community forums has also been removed. 

Why This Reversal?

While Google has not stated the reasons behind this move publicly, it is also true that the launch of this feature did happen during a sensitive time. Google has been facing scrutiny, increasingly so, over its advertising and search practices. 

Moreover, this feature did raise concerns about the search engine giant’s relationships with website owners and publishers. So, without any explicit permission, adding links to people’s content is not entirely ethical. This is because such a move helps Google to influence how people engage with different websites from its app. 

Why Does This Matter?

The quick and silent removal of the Page Annotations feature by Google suggests it might be rethinking its relationships with publishers amid ongoing antitrust issues. 

So, publishers don’t have to worry anymore about the search engine giant adding links without consent to their website content in the Google app on iOS devices.

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