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‘Simple Search’ turns back the clock on Google results, hides ads in the process

Google Search is the most widely used search tool on the planet, and for good reason! It grabs search results easily and accurately and all without costing a dime. If you’re tired of sponsored links and want to go back to the good ol’ days of Google Search, though, “Simple Search” is exactly what you’re looking for.

The free Chrome/Edge and Firefox extension developed by The Markup accomplishes a very simple task. Simple Search adds a pop-up window to Google or Bing with the ten top results to your search query. It doesn’t modify the page underneath, but brings those results to the forefront just like they were two decades ago.

Remember when search results provided “ten blue links” that sent you to the right place, rather than having to wade through a plethora of sponsored results and info boxes first? We do, too. So we turned back the clock.

Simple Search doesn’t modify the search page, it just adds a new view on top, showing just those “traditional” search results provided by the search engine. If you’d rather see the other results, too, you can easily close the window.

Of course, you might lose out by using this extension. While it brings traditional links to the top of the page, it also hides the company’s wonderfully useful Knowledge Panels, video results, and more. You can just close Simple Search to get your traditional Google results at any time, though.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


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