Google just revealed what you found most fascinating in 2022

By Alan Truly December 7, 2022

Google shared one of the most interesting end-of-year wrap-ups you’ll read, revealing the searches that you, and everyone else in the U.S., found most fascinating in 2022.

Topping the list, the simple yet challenging five-letter, word-guessing game Wordle is the most searched-for term of the year. If you want to know more about how to play Wordle, check out our guide to satisfy all of those questions.

A Google search page for most popular movie of 2022 is shown falling into a vortex.

Being an election year, that was the most requested news and second most popular search overall. The passing of the U.K.’s Queen Elizabeth and actress Betty White saddened us in 2022, leading to the second-greatest number of news searches and third most searched, respectively. We have a list of the best movies and TV shows about the Queen if you want to learn more about this iconic leader.

We can’t get enough Encanto and we all wanted to know more about this beloved Disney movie, taking first place over Marvel’s playful superhero adventure Thor: Love and Thunder. Encanto also featured the most searched-for song, We Don’t Talk About Bruno.

Google included searches for cultural landmarks on Google Maps also and the eerily-named Skinwalker Ranch in Utah was most intriguing. This is the site of supposed UFO encounters and we all love a spooky mystery, as long as it isn’t nearby.

Google has a feature that allows you to hum a song to start a search and the Backstreets Boys’ Everybody proved to be the most hummed song of the year. In what seems like a joke, Google rick-rolled us with the second most popular hum, Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley.

There are plenty of end-of-year summaries available but Google definitely has the pulse of the nation. You can see the full list of top Google searches for 2022 on Google Trends.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Tech News

Computing Writer

Alan is a Computing Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is…

Computing

Secret deal with MasterCard let Google track what you buy

Google Headquarters

In a secret deal estimated to be worth millions of dollars, Google paid MasterCard to track whether online ad clicks translated to sales in retail stores. According to Bloomberg, Google has for the past year used its access to MasterCard data to gain insight into how online ads affect retail spending — an effort to bolster its $95.4 billion ad business.

When you click on an ad while logged into your Google account, your action is recorded, even if the click doesn't convert into an immediate online sale. Many users opt to research for a product online before making the purchase at a retail store. Based on the MasterCard deal, when you head into a store to buy the item, Google will be able to link your ad click to your transaction by using MasterCard's data, connecting the email address that you've shared with the store to obtain a digital copy of your receipt, or through third-party payment processors.

Computing

Google responds to Trump’s tweet-rage: We didn’t rig search against you!

Google Headquarters

Google categorically rejected President Donald J. Trump's claim that the search engine giant is using its position to manipulate search results in a politically biased manner. In a fiery tweet Tuesday morning, August 28, Trump slammed Google, claiming that the search engine favored news sources from sites that publish negative views on him in its search results.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1034456273306243076

Mobile

It’s now easier to tell Google exactly what data it can use to advertise to you

google revamped ad settings tool android

Online privacy could be on the rise in 2018. After the Cambridge Analytica scandal prompted Facebook to tweak how users can control their ad experience on the social media website, it looks like Google is also stepping up to give you a little more control. The company has announced a revamp of the slightly old and outdated Ad Settings, which Google says "makes it easier to understand and control how ads are tailored to you."

By the looks of it, the new Ad Settings website will make it a whole lot easier to see the kinds of data that Google is using to advertise to you. The interface is organized based on topics -- so you'll be able to see a list of topics that Google thinks you're interested in.