After acquiring Yahoo back in 2017, Verizon now launched a new privacy focused search engine, OneSearch. The primary focus of the search engine is to provide a safe place to search the internet. As you might already know, the most popular search engine Google tracks user activities via cookies and use that for ad-targeting. Due to that, many internet users are migrating to more privacy focused search engines and web browsers. With OneSearch, Verizon is trying to capture the userbase who are concerned about their online privacy.
Unlike Google, OneSearch does neither use cookies nor track search history. You might be thinking if OneSearch is not using cookies then how it’s going to generate revenue. Well, the revenue still comes from the ads but the ads are targeting based on the search keywords instead of cookies. The ads are picked on the fly as you search for something.
On top of that, there is an “Advanced Privacy Mode” that encrypts your search terms in the URL. This feature safeguards your search from spoofing and other network monitors. In this mode, the link to your search results automatically expires within an hour. Under the hood, the search engine is powered by Bing. OneSearch is an intermediate entity (like a firewall) that promises to protect your privacy.
Also read: Search Internet Anonymously with These Free Android Apps
OneSearch: A New Privacy Focused Search Engine
OneSearch takes various safety measures to ensure user privacy when searching the internet. Here are the main highlights of this search engine:
- No Cookies
- No Search History
- No Personal Profiling
- Unfiltered Results
- Keyword Encryption
- Auto Expiry Links
When you visit the search engine page, the “Advanced Privacy Mode” is enabled by default. You can easily detect if the mode is enabled or not as it offers more security with encryption and link expiration. If the interface is dark that means this mode is enabled. If you get a light (white) interface that means the “Advanced Privacy Mode” is disabled and you can enable it with the given toggle below the search box.
OneSearch does not track your personal data although it does track your IP to provide local results in the search. When you search for something on OneSearch, it collects your search query along with your IP address. Then it fetches the data from Bing and provides you the search results after optimizations. The IP address is processed for Network Traffic Protection by the Search Provide (Bing is this case) where it saved for 4 days and gets deleted afterward.
Do note that the scope of this search engine is limited to Search Engine Result Page only. It does not protect your privacy on third-party websites that show up in the results. After the SERP, your privacy depends on the website you visit. If the website uses cookies that it does collect some sort of your personal data which most of them do.
Closing Words
As I mentioned, many privacy focused search engines and web browsers are getting users’ attention and gaining popularity. OneSearch is another addition to such services. Now the question is should you switch to OneSearch? The answer to this question is a bit complicated and it’s a little early to answer that. Companies claim lots of things in the beginning; they do a well documented Privacy Policy that you can read here. So let’s wait and see if Verizon is going to hold on to their claims about user privacy.
