Brave, the developer of a privacy-focused web browser of the same name, has announced that it has acquired technology from Cliqz, a search engine that shut down last year. Cliqz developments are planned to be used to create their own search engine that is tightly integrated with the browser and does not track visitors. The search engine is privacy-focused and will evolve with community input.
The community will be able not only to take part in filling search indexes, but also to participate in the creation of alternative ranking models to prevent censorship and one-sided presentation of material. To select the most relevant materials, Cliqz uses a model based on the analysis of an anonymous log of requests and clicks made by users in the browser. Participation in the accumulation of such data will be optional. Together with the community, the Goggles system will also be developed, offering a domain-specific language for writing search result filters. The user will be able to choose filters with which he agrees and disable those that he considers unacceptable.
The search engine will be financed by advertising. Users will be offered two options - paid access without ads and free access with ads that will not use user tracking. Browser integration will make it possible to implement the transmission of information about preferences under the control of the user and without violating confidentiality, and will also provide the ability to add features such as instant refinement of the result as the request is typed. An open API will be provided to integrate the search engine with non-commercial projects.
Recall that the Brave web browser is being developed under the leadership of Brendan Eich, the creator of the JavaScript language and a former head of Mozilla. The browser is built on the Chromium engine, focuses on protecting user privacy, includes an integrated ad-cutting engine, can work through Tor, provides built-in support for HTTPS Everywhere, IPFS and WebTorrent, and offers a subscription-based alternative to banner funding for publishers. The project code is distributed under the MPLv2 free license.
Interestingly, at one time, Mozilla tried to integrate Cliqz into Firefox (Mozilla was one of Cliqz's investors), but the experiment failed due to user dissatisfaction with the leakage of their data. The problem was that in order to ensure the operation of the built-in Cliqz add-on, all data entered in the address bar was transferred to the server of a third-party commercial company Cliqz GmbH, which gained access to information about the sites opened by the user and queries entered through the address bar. It was argued that the data is transmitted anonymously and is not tied to the user in any way, but at the same time, the company knows the user's IP addresses and it is impossible to make sure that the IP binding is removed, the data does not settle in the logs, or is not hidden used to determine preferences.
Source: opennet.ru