Google's secret real-time search option uncovered

Ran Geva, founder of start-up search engine Omgili, claims that by making a simple change to the text in the Google URL internet users can limit searches to results indexed minutes or seconds ago.

The ‘URL hack' requires users to click on the ‘search options' feature on the Google homepage (first made available in the US) and limit searches to the last day. They can then alter the URL that appears in the address bar to see results discovered in the last ten minutes or 30 seconds.

Google enhanced its offering in May allowing users to filter searches by time including the past 24 hours, past week and past year. However, it stopped short of a real-time search service like that provided by Twitter.

At around the same time Google co-founder Larry Page admitted that the internet giant was losing ground to Twitter and would launch a real-time search service.

"I have always thought we needed to index the web every second to allow real time search," he said. "At first, my team laughed and did not believe me. With Twitter, now they know they have to do it."

Ever since, the unveiling of Google's real-time search offering has been hotly anticipated. This latest discovery suggests that Google has either already developed the service and has just not announced it yet, or there is a bug in Google ‘search option' function that has gone unnoticed.