Verizon Media launched a "privacy-focused" search engine for consumers called OneSearch. Available for free on desktop and mobile web at www.onesearch.com, OneSearch doesn't track, store, or share personal or search data with advertisers, giving users greater control of their personal information in a search context. Businesses with an interest in security can partner with Verizon Media to integrate OneSearch into their privacy and security products, giving their customers another measure of control.
OneSearch’s privacy-focused features for consumers include no cookie tracking, retargeting, or personal profiling, no sharing of personal data with advertisers, no storing of user search history, unbiased, unfiltered search results, and encrypted search terms, the company said.
In addition, with Advanced Privacy Mode enabled, OneSearch’s encrypted search results link will expire within an hour, adding another layer of privacy in the event that multiple people use the same device or if a search results link is shared with a friend.
OneSearch is an ad-supported platform to allow for a free search engine experience. Ads will be contextual, based on factors like search keywords, not cookies or browsing history. For example, if someone searches for "flights to Paris," they may see ads for travel booking sites or airlines that travel to Paris.
OneSearch is immediately available for the North American market on desktop and mobile web. It will be available via mobile app on Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad) later in January, with availability in other countries coming soon.
Back in 2016, the FCC fined Verizon USD 1.4 million for so-called “supercookies” that track which websites users on its mobile network visited.
