Ask.com Addresses Privacy Worries

No. 5 search engine says it will erase info within hours

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 11, 2007 11:34 AM CST

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Ask.com Addresses Privacy Worries — Japanese university computer students from schools in Tokyo pose for pictures as they tour around Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., in this April 19, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file) (Associated Press)

Aiming to establish itself as an innovator, Ask.com is allowing users to have their search requests deleted within hours, the AP reports. The fifth-most-popular search engine with just 3% market share, Ask.com is taking a huge leap toward being the web’s least intrusive search option. "We definitely want to stand out from the other guys," says a senior VP.

Google, which boasts 55% market share, saves personal info for 18 months, and Yahoo (19%), Microsoft (14%), and AOL (4%) store data for over a year. AskEraser, which launches today, flies in the face of rivals’ claims that they need to hold on to requests to better know their and improve targeting of ads. (More Google stories.)

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