# Google autofill

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 5, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151 "2008-09-05T09:06:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151/1 "2008-09-05T09:06:37Z")

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When I used the google search page the autofill feature worked fine. As I typed, terms which fitted and I had used before would appear. Then, a couple days ago, I started seeing a list of different terms which I believe are google’s popular searches. I do not know if I did anything which changed this but I do not remember doing anything which might have caused it. I hated this so I started messing and now I do not get any kind of autocomplete. I liked it the way it was. I want to be able to recall the searches I did before. I want the autocomplete feature to work just like it works in every other form. How is this controlled and how can I set it back to the way I like it?

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**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151/2 "2008-09-05T11:19:41Z")

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Click on preferences on the Google home page, scroll down to Query Suggestions and click on “provide query suggestions”. I don’t like using it but for some reason it turns itself on everytime I login to Google.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151/3 "2008-09-05T11:22:00Z")

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I’ve also noticed in the last days-week, that the autofill seems more active than ever before. I don’t think I changed anything.

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-autofill/462151/4 "2008-09-05T12:10:44Z")

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> [@racer72](#):
>
> Click on preferences on the Google home page, scroll down to Query Suggestions and click on “provide query suggestions”. I don’t like using it but for some reason it turns itself on everytime I login to Google.

Thanks! That did it. For some reason it had turned itself on. After I turned it off now the autofill works again the way it used to (the normal way).

I suppose that information is saved in a cookie in my computer and it may have been corrupted or something. On the one hand I want to allow Google to save that cookie with my preferences but later, every time I do a search, Google wants to save another cookie and I am not sure what goes in there but I am distrustful. But if I disable cookies for google then it will not save my preferences… Any ideas?