Take Control of your search privacy with Askeraser

A new tool from Ask.com puts users of the Ask search engine in control of their Internet search profile. The tool, AskEraser, lets anyone using the Ask search engine to delete all their search profile stored on Ask.com servers, or enable it if they so choose. AskEraser is disabled by default, but enabling it is as easy as clicking the AskEraser link on the upper right of the search page, and clicking “Turn on AskEraser” (see the slideshow below) in the modal dialogue box that pops up.

What AskEraser does is give you some control over your search activity data, that is, the pages you visit on Ask.com, the terms you search for, your IP address, the links you click, and any user or session identifier. I say some control because as good as it sounds, here are some things you need to know about AskEraser:

When enabled, AskEraser does not delete your search activity data immediately. It may take several hours
AskEraser remains active for 24 months, provided you use Ask.com from the same computer
You will not be able to customize your Ask.com page when AskEraser is on
AskEraser only works if you search directly from Ask.com or from search boxes in Firefox or other browsers. It will not work if you search from search boxes embedded in other sites
Search activity data collected by third-party partners of Ask.com cannot be deleted by AskEraser
Your search activity data may be retained if there is a formal legal request from law enforcement agencies

View AskEraser Slideshow

I think that Ask.com is moving in the right direction with a tool like AskEraser, but given the fact that it does not guarantee that your search activity data will be deleted, a search service like Scroogle might be your best bet if you are truly concerned about your Internet search privacy.