OAKLAND, Calif. - Search engine Ask.com has introduced AskEraser, a program that allows users to permanently delete all future search and cookie information from the site's servers.
Upon activation by the user, AskEraser deletes the IP address, user ID, session ID and the text from the user's searches. A blog at TechCrunch points out that AskEraser deletes only information from future Ask.com searches.
According to a Comscore report published in September, Ask.com accounted for 4.7 percent of U.S. search traffic in July and 4.5 percent in August.
Google and Yahoo have had user-privacy plans since March. Google deletes personal information within 18 months, and Yahoo does so within 13 months. Ask.com announced an 18-month policy in July.
