Ask.com has launched the AskEraser, a tool that 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.

You will find the AskEraser link in the upper right corner of the Ask.com homepage and search results pages.

The AskEraser is implemented on Ask.com’s major search verticals: Web, Images, AskCity, News, Blogs, Video, and Maps & Directions - and can be turned “on” or “off” by the user.

The AskEraser FAQ adds that

“When AskEraser is enabled, all Ask.com cookies will be deleted from your browser, one cookie will be set to remember that you have AskEraser turned on, and going-forward, your search activity will be deleted from Ask.com servers. AskEraser will remain ‘on’ across multiple visits to the Ask.com site provided that you do not clear your Ask.com cookies and provided that you’re using the same computer and browser.”

“For people who worry about their online privacy, AskEraser now gives them control of their search information,” says Jim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com. “AskEraser is simple, straightforward, and easy-to-use. It is an idea whose time has come.”

AskEraser is now available in the United States and in the United Kingdom – and will be deployed globally in 2008.

User privacy as a competitive advantage

It interesting to see how seriously Ask is taking the privacy of user search data. They are, obviously, afraid of the bad publicity that would follow from a “scandal” in this area. Many consumer organizations have expressed concern about the search engine’s storage of search data.

Moreover, this is a proactive strategy that sets them apart from competitors like Google and Yahoo!

There are probably quite a few concerned searchers that will give Ask another try because of the AskEraser. Ask gives good search results, and many of the new followers may choose to remain with Ask, even if Google, Yahoo! and Live implement similar tools of their own.

Google and Yahoo! will not make their own erasers

So far Google has given no sign of following in Ask’s footsteps.

According to Wired Google believes that their new 18-month retention period will allow them to address their “legitimate interests in security, innovation and anti-fraud efforts while still protecting user privacy by anonymizing IP addresses and cookies stored in our logs after this period.”

Yahoo argues that their 13 month-policy is “the appropriate timeline to honor our commitment to our users’ privacy while preserving our ability to defend against fraudulent activity and continue to improve our services.”

Ask is giving up valuable data

It should be noted that Ask has a price to pay for their privacy policy. Other search engines may use such data for research on user behavior — research that can be used to improve search algorithms and search results.

Moreover, they need such data if they are to implement individually tailored search results — i.e. search results that are adjusted according to the interests of the individual searchers.

In order to provide such services, Ask will have to convince the searcher to keep the AskEraser in an off position. That is not unproblematic, as the very existence of the AskEraser gives the searcher the impression that privacy is something he or she should really be concerned about.

Ask is aware of the problem. Jim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com, tells Search Engine Land that if 100% of Ask searchers choose to use the AskEraser Ask would have to modify a lot of what they do. Still, given that the eraser is “off” by default, Ask will probably get the amount of user data they need, although the selection of respondents will be skewed.

Ixquick is not impressed

There are those in the search engine industry that are not equally impressed with Ask’s new tool.

Metasearch engine Ixquick has already implemented a policy of deleting user data , and Ixquick’s Alex van Eesteren now argues that their policy is better than the one of Ask.

He argues that Ixquick’s privacy features are also applicable to Toolbar searches, and that Ixquick does not relay search terms to the website you choose to click on.

Moreover, the AskErase button only works for future searches. Your “old” searches remains in the Ask database. Ixquick also promises to erase previous searches.

“But there is one crucial element Ask overlooked and did not address,” van Eesteren says, “and it reduces their privacy offering to near zero: As can be read in their privacy policy under ‘Third Party Providers’ they continue to send ‘users search activity data’ to third party providers, one of which is …….Google!”

The question is of course, what search activity data this is.

AskEraser user FAQ