For those of us worrying about online privacy, Oakland-based Ask.com gives people the power to prevent their search from being deposited in data banks…
“Search engine Ask has launched a feature that it hopes will prove a selling point for consumers concerned about their online privacy…”
San Francisco — Hoping to add to its paltry market share in the Google-dominated world of Internet search, Web search site Ask.com is launching a feature that allows users to delete data on their search queries in an effort to bolster personal privacy while surfing the Internet.
A link titled “AskEraser” will be featured on the site’s home page and all search results pages, with a clear choice to signal whether the feature should be “On” or “Off” during a user’s search requests.
With “AskEraser” feature, users will be able to request that their search data be purged within hours of initiating the search. That is significantly different than other sites like Google, which may keep user search histories in their data banks for months.
“The new “AskEraser” is being touted by Ask.com as the first product of its kind, a tool designed to bring solace to those who worry about their privacy.”
“When enabled by the user, AskEraser completely deletes all future search queries and associated cookie information from Ask.com servers, including IP address, User ID, Session ID, and the complete text of their queries,” said the company in announcing the AskEraser.
“We definitely want to stand out from the other guys. This level of control is unprecedented and unmatched,” said Ask.com senior VP Doug Leeds in an Associated Press interview.
“For people who are worried about search privacy, we let them take the issue off the table completely rather than dickering with questions about how long we will store their search information or what we do with it,” said Jim Lanzone, Ask.com’s chief executive.
“We take significant steps to protect any data that is stored in our servers, but for those people who want to take extra precautions, AskEraser let them take the issue completely off the table,” Lanzone said in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s launch.
“The feature becomes available on Tuesday for U.S. and UK users, and will expand to global sites in 2008.”
The new feature comes as many people complain about search engines compiling records about their queries because the records could be subpoenaed or mined by advertisers.
“A lot of information is recorded about people online that people do not have control over. It is time for us to get a better idea of what private information companies are keeping on us and what kind of control we have over it,” said Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of Search Engine Land, an online trade publication.
Following news that Ask.com has introduced a new tool, called AskEraser, which can prevent Ask.com from storing any search data, EPIC’s Marc Rotenberg said Ask.com’s AskEraser is a step in the right direction but noted that it is not enough.
“When Google announces that it is not retaining search histories, I think we can celebrate,” he said.
“Ask still passes users’ search data to Google, which stores and retains that data for an extended period, notwithstanding Ask’s supposed commitment not to store it," Harvard University Assistant Professor Ben Edelman said in a statement. “Ask is in a tough spot. They need Google results to supplement their own. But in integrating Google results, they are subject to Google’s policies.”
Earlier this year, Ask said it had changed its data retention policy to separate a person’s search history from their identifying Internet information after 18 months. The company is part of Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp.
The opportunity to stake out private space on the Web becomes more critical as Internet use grows more deeply embedded into daily life and as Web sites and advertisers seek information on user behavior to send them targeted messages.
In America consumer advocacy groups have expressed doubts about a proposed merger between Google and ad-serving company DoubleClick, which is currently being reviewed by US regulators.
But some critics have pointed out that it does not entirely erase all information, as search queries relating to advertisements supplied by Google will continue to be passed to the search rival.
In addition, Ask.com has taken steps to further industry collaboration on privacy issues. In July, Ask.com and Microsoft joined together in urging the online industry to develop global privacy principles for data collection, use, and protection related to searching and online advertising.
Since then, Ask.com has worked with other technology leaders, consumer advocacy organizations, and academics to make progress toward the development of these principles.
“Anonymized search data provides online companies with important information to optimize the overall search experience,” Leeds, said in a statement. “At Ask.com, that aggregate information is already guided by strong privacy standards and policies. But for those who place greater importance on protecting their search data and their online privacy, AskEraser takes care of their concerns by putting consumers in charge.”
Other search engines are attempting to quell concerns about privacy and most operate polices which mean search histories are deleted between a year and 18 months after they were made.
But some consumers are getting twitchy about how their data is shared, following some high-profile cases.
“In August 2006 AOL was forced to apologize after it released the search queries of more than 650,000 of its US subscribers to help in academic research.”
Users of Ask.com will be able to see an “AskEraser” button on the upper right-hand portion of all the site’s pages. Clicking on it, they can turn the service on. The product is designed to work for 12 months, at which point users will have to turn it on again.
“If people understand the privacy risk to them, they speak up. People are paying more attention to these issues,” said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.
“Having the control to use it or not goes a long way toward making consumers feel comfortable,” said Leeds.
And just last week Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of social networking site Facebook, had to make changes to a new advertising system after more than 50,000 users complained about it.
Called Beacon, the system is designed to track web shopping on partner sites outside Facebook with the intention of providing targeted adverts to the social network based on purchases.
After complaints the site was invading privacy, Facebook changed Beacon from an opt-out system to opt in. Mr Zuckerberg has said users can now switch off Beacon completely.
Ask.com, the fifth largest U.S. search engine, after Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, according to the research firm Nielsen Online, wants to provide this privacy feature in order to lure more traffic on its site.
People coming on Ask.com will not have to worry about their personal information being stored, like other search engines do. It is already a fact that Google and Microsoft store personal information for 18 months, while Yahoo and AOL retain search request for 13 months.