Ask.com is preparing to launch a new service called AskEraser, which is a a privacy settings option that ensures that no search records will be retained by the company. This will make Ask.com the first major search engine to offer such a high level of privacy options for users. Many have expressed concerns with privacy options, or lack thereof, for people performing internet searches. AskEraser will guarantee that a person’s search records won’t be saved by the company in any way, shape or form, for any period of time. The privacy status for a search session will be prominently displayed for users as well.
The Center for Democracy and Technology, an organization that promote civil liberties online, has helped to prompt Ask.com to create the option for users to not have their activity recorded. Google’s actions in response to privacy advocates, which included the shortening the time which search preference cookies were saved and anonymizing its server logs after 18 months, also helped spur Ask.com’s efforts in providing more privacy options for users, obviously as a more desirable option for some seeking additional protection. This may prove to be another way in which Ask.com hopes to compete with Google, after launching an AdSense-like system earlier this year.
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