Ask.com In Googles Grill With AskEraser

Privacy and security have been hot topics in the world of search engines this year, and Ask has not only launched the first tool to address concerns, but its made the announcement on a day when theres little news from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The end result? Everyone is seeing: Privacy + Search = Ask.com.

OK, so on to the actual announcement for AskEraser.

When enabled by the user, AskEraser completely deletes all future search queries and associated cookie information from Ask.com servers, including IP address, User ID, Session ID, and the complete text of their queries.

An AskEraser link is featured prominently in the upper right corner of the Ask.com homepage and search results pages " clearly and constantly indicating to the user that their search activity will be erased from Ask.com servers. AskEraser remains on for searches conducted across Ask.coms major search verticals: Web, Images, AskCity, News, Blogs, Video, and Maps & Directions - and can be turned on or off by the user at anytime.

Hype aside, theres really not that much to celebrate here. Agreed, its great that a search engine is giving us the option to completely nuke all of our personal data, but what difference does that make when the search engine in question has less than 5% market share? Not a lot, except when you consider the noise Ask is making with this announcement. With the attention Ask is getting today, you can bet that mainstream media"and perhaps search users"are quickly asking, If Ask.com can do this, why cant Google?

And thats pretty much the big deal with todays announcement. While Ask may pick up 1/8 of a point of market share, its real victory will come from being the company that re-started the discussions on privacy protection. You may not end up using AskEraser, but you might want to add Asks CEO Jim Lanzone to your Christmas card list. After all, he might just have given us a great present this year"and with the gift receipt, we might get the chance to exchange AskEraser for something similar from Google.

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