Ask.com introduces anonymous searches
Although I am trying to use some of the smaller search engines instead of using Google all the time, somehow I have never “clicked” (no pun intended) with Ask.com . Maybe it was their former Jeeves figure that put me off but Ask.com never seemed to me to be a very serious kind of search engine.
So although I applaud their latest feature, I am unlikely to use it.
The search engine has introduced anonymous searches. In the wake of the furor over the US Government trying to bully search engines to hand over search information, such a feature is bound to be popular among heavy searchers. Basically, the service, called “AskEraser”, will not collect personally identifiable information such as the IP address and the search query itself. So you can surf away for Britney Spears pics to your heart’s content and no-one will ever know about it.
The cynical side of me wonders how long it will be before Google and Yahoo slap themselves, mutter “why didn’t WE think of that?!” and copy Ask.com. Then again, what does Yahoo care about user privacy? They’re too busy giving in to the US government and handing over search records. When they’re not doing that, they’re incriminating journalists in China, getting them thrown into jail. So when it comes to user privacy and protection, Yahoo doesn’t really have a stellar record.
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