A ‘people card’ feature has been rolled out by tech giant Google in India. Starting today, the firm has made it live for Indian users searching in English on mobile phones.
This feature has been rolled out to help people increase their online presence, particularly for those who are just beginning to use it and those who don’t even have a website right now. It can aid individuals, influencers, entrepreneurs, prospective employees, self-employed people, freelancers who want to be found.
Described as a virtual visiting card, internet users can use these ‘people cards’ to highlight their contact details, such as social profiles and any other information about themselves that they wish to make public.
“For the millions of influencers, entrepreneurs, prospective employees, self-employed individuals, freelancers, or anyone else out there who wants to be discovered, we hope this new Search feature will help the world find them,” said Google in its blog post.
Only one person’s card can be created per account, and there will be protected against spam and abuse. Content policies will apply to the cards, and a human review will take place where necessary.
The cards will display the photo, profession and location to clearly distinguish it from others of the same name. Users also have the option of adding education, contact details, and other information such as hometown and social media profiles.
Users will be required to search their name or ‘add me to search’ on their mobile phones to enable the feature. Once their name appears, they can click on the ‘get started’ button and add the information they want to show the world. However, users will need to log in to their Google accounts to do likewise. Also, like the feature itself, the option of adding me to search also only appears on mobile.
The tech giant has also said people can always opt-out of the cards. Their information will no longer appear in quest upon exit.
