2 Tricks For Finding What You've Said On Google Plus

If you've given advice all over Google Plus, it's very easy to forget where all this helpful, sage advice resides. What if you want to search your own posts and comments in a relatively painless way? Try these two tips.

First scenario: You're searching for comments you've left on Google Plus posts originated by other users.

Adding a hyphen before inurl colon in the Google Plus search bar will let us do this. Your query should look like this:

["bnmbyour name" -inurl:x] 

(Replace x with your Google Plus profile number)

(Read more about advanced search)

Your name with quotes around it must be a precise match to how it currently appears in Google Plus. Your name goes before the hyphen with a space in between. Remember the colon, too. They're all necessary. If you neglect any of these details, the function won't work. Entering a search term isn't required. However, entering your name is a must. You'll see where you've commented, as long as you didn't originate the post. 

Second scenario: You'd like to find a Google Plus post you originated or shared publicly, and you can't seem to find it, even after scrolling down for what seems like forever.

For this, you can attempt to search using Google's standard search engine. Yes, this is bizarre, and yes, it means going outside of Google Plus to run a slightly different query. To do this, go to normal www.google.com. Do not use the Google Plus search bar. Your query should look like this:

yoursearchterm inurl:x  (Replace x with your Google Plus profile number)

You must must remember the space and the colon. Examples:

refund inurl:115061137477098809249 or
telecom inurl:115061137477098809249

Notice again there's no hyphen this time (in front of inurl) and your results will be shown to you as a SERP. Clicking on a result should take you back to Google Plus. Sometimes you'll notice the SERPs aren't extremely helpful, but they can be quicker than a maddening manual search, especially if your Google Plus post is old. Strangely, inurl doesn't work in the Google Plus search bar. There's no need to put your name anywhere in this command, but a search term is necessary. In the above examples, the first search term is the word refund. In the second, it's telecom.

Summary

These two functions help you find what you've said on Google Plus, but they do different things. 

-inurl will display where you've left comments on other people's Google Plus posts. Run your query in Google Plus by using the Google Plus search bar. Your name in quotes is required, and it must be an exact match. A search term isn't required.

inurl only works outside of the Google Plus user interface. It can be helpful in finding your own public posts and shares. To use inurl, you need to leave Google Plus by opening a new window or a new tab so that you can use www.google.com.  inurl won't work in the Google Plus search box.  A search term is required. Your name isn't required. The results sometimes won't be superb, but if you're lucky, they can be a time-saver.

Alex H. Yong writes reviews on popular smartphones, tablets, cloud services, and other tech topics for his blog, TechMania411.net. He is a fan of Android and likes cats, comedy, corn on the cob, and clarity most of all. Originally from the island nation of Singapore, he now calls New York City home.