Will Privacy Sell?

Ask.com is working on a service called "AskEraser" that will allow users to make their searches more private. Search engines like Ask.com, Google, Yahoo, etc. typically keep track of search terms typed in by users. linking them to a computer's Internet address and/or the user. If "AskEraser" is turned on, it discards all that information, the company says. "It works like a light switch," said Doug Leeds Senior vice president for product management at Ask.com.

For more details, see article in the Technology section of the December 10th New York Times .