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A former duo of Google employees has started building a new search engine just 3 Miles down the road from Google’s headquarters. And the catch is: It’s a privacy-focused search engine.
Google remains the largest search engine in the world, despite various attempts to dethrone the tech giant. The most recent attempt came from privacy-focused DuckDuckGo which called out Google for its delay in making its privacy labels on iOS public.
Now a new contender has entered the market. The newly established startup Neeva is founded by two former Google employees, Sridhar Ramaswamy, ex-SVP of Ads at Google, and Vivek Raghunathan, ex-VP of Monetization at YouTube. The duo has almost 30 years combined of working for the gigantic tech company and that translated into a lot of experience and dedication which was then poured into their newest search engine that boasts about offering something unique:
“Search is the gateway to the world’s information, and with Neeva, we want to help you experience the Internet in a new way—free of distractions, prying eyes, and frustration.”
The future holds no adds
The company’s desire for users to be able to browse results without being influenced by an avalanche of advertisers has also resonated with other ex-Google employees who have decided to join the team. Some of them include Udi Manber, Ex-Head of Google Search, Margo Georgiadis, former VP of Global Sales Operations, and also Darin Fisher, the previous VP of Engineering.
The good news is that the search engine will not generate money by using the user’s privacy and data and will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy and will not share information across any accounts or apps. However, it will operate on a subscription fee, with the monthly subscription costing between $5-10.
But even though Neeva doesn’t sell your information, it is transparent and clear from the start regarding the type of information it collects and the way it uses it. So even though the users have an impressive level of control of their data, including accessing personal data, updating and correcting personal information, and also requesting for restrictions to be imposed or information to be deleted, the app can however share your data with service providers. So even though the search engine does collect some private information, it makes an effort to assure its users that it will keep said information safe and not pass it on to advertisers or third parties.
Neeva Data Collection Index:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Location information
- Name
- User settings
- IP address
- Information you save in your ‘spaces’
- Payment information
- Operating system or device
- Mailing address
- Cookie identifiers
- Information regarding your contacts
- The browser type and version you use
- Pages that you visit
How does Neeva Use Personal Information:
At the moment Neeva is still in the limited beta testing stage but plans to be officially rolled out somewhere in 2021. So far, tens of thousands of people have signed up on Neeva’s waitlist, with the startup raising $40 million to accelerate the project. Currently, the company has 25 employees and total funding of $77.5 million.
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