Ask.com Puts a Bet on Privacy - Will privacy sell?

Ask.com, the fourth-largest search engine service launched a service today called AskEraser. A first for the search industry, this eraser lets you decide if you want information about your search discarded once the search is complete.

All other search engines automatically store and data mine your search information for over a year. Ask.com has placed their AskEraser prominently on their home screen (See illustration) to make it easy for consumers to discover and use. “My gut tells me that basically it is not going to be a competitive advantage,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, an independent research company “I think people will look at it and see it as a cool thing, and they may use it. But I don’t think it will be a market differentiator.”

Things to think about

I highly recommend switching to Ask.com until other search providers make this choice an option in their services.

Though Ask.com trails far behind the other key search engines with only 4.7 % of US search traffic compared Google with 58.5%, Yahoo with 22.9% and Microsoft at 9.7% according to comScore data for the month of October, the AskEraser is a huge step forward in respecting consumers and acknowledging privacy rights.

How much does your privacy and safety mean to you?

This is a fundamental question you need to answer. Are you willing to allow internet companies to continue exploiting your online actions and content without even asking for your consent?

Though this may seem like a small battle, it is part of a larger war. What is at stake here is a foundational shift in recognizing your rights. As consumers you have huge power to reward companies that respect you and punish those that do not. It’s as simple as shifting services, and letting your old search engine know that until they offer a similar choice you won’t be back. The Facebook backlash against their extremely exploitive ad campaign (where over 50,000 consumers signed a petition last month demanding the feature be changed to allow consumers to reject it, and which produced an immediate change by Facebook) was a healthy sign that consumer sentiment towards companies’ exploitive online behavior will not be tolerated.

There is speculation among privacy experts about the impact AskEraser will have on Ask.com’s market share. Some doubt that consumer concern about privacy and safety are strong enough to change your search behavior.

It’s up to you to prove them wrong. Begin your own petitions and pass the message along.

Linda