So while Google is reducing the retention of cookie information it gets from users who use its search engine, Ask.com is giving their users more control of those private information by letting them erase the information after they use the Ask search engines. In a press release issued by Ask.com today, it was announced that the 4th most visited search engine player will be releasing a new product called AskEraser. AskEraser will let Ask.com users access to their privacy settings whenever they do a search at Ask.com’s search portal. Users would have the ability to set parameter settings which could protect their privacy while being online.
Jim Lanzone, Ask.com CEO said in the Press Release:
AskEraser is a great solution for those looking for an additional level of privacy when they search online. Anonymous user data can be very useful to enhance search products for all users, and we’re committed to being open and transparent about how such information is used. But we also understand that there are some who are interested in new tools that will help protect their privacy further, and we will give them that control on Ask.com.
Ask.com will implement AskEraser initially to U.S. and U.K. users at the end of this year before implementing it worldwide. This would make Ask.com the first to have done some action towards protecting the privacy of its users. It would be interesting to note how the other three top search engines would react to this announcement by Ask.com.
