Member Article

PRIVACY SEARCH ENGINE MOJEEK PASSES 2 BILLION PAGE MILESTONE

Mojeek, a crawler-based search engine which has been developed in the UK is now searching over 2 billion web pages. Developed by Marc Smith, founder and developer, Mojeek aims to be the alternative search engine of choice, offering independent search results whilst not compromising the privacy of those who use it.

Reaching this 2 billion page milestone is significant as it establishes Mojeek as one of the largest web search indexes in the world. But not only has Mojeek’s index grown in size, they also continue to develop and improve their ranking algorithm, meaning the quality of the results returned are continuously improving.

Funded by a number of private investors who believe in the need for an alternative search engine and also in support of Britain plc, Mojeek is based at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Brighton and runs their servers from the Green Data Centre accolade winners, CustodianDC in Maidstone.

Speaking about the milestone Marc said: “We have worked hard to develop a search engine that provides independent and unbiased search results that is free from tracking. The GDPR deadline, along with filling our inbox with privacy policies, has brought into sharp focus ‘personal data’ and why we should all take more interest in protecting our right to privacy. Having built our technology from the ground up, and with a core principle of doing what’s right for the people that use Mojeek, means that we are able to offer people complete confidence that we take their privacy seriously, unlike many other global brands whose revenues are built on the value of consumer data.”

The importance of building an alternative search engine cannot be overstated in the face of recent scandals. It was recently reported that Google is facing a ‘ground-breaking’ £3.2 billion lawsuit for allegedly tracking 4.4 million UK iPhone users’ browsing data without their knowledge . This has been followed up with the potentially expensive lawsuits following the first day of GDPR compliance.

Many search engines openly share information about their users online habits with advertisers. Many people, when asked, might not be too concerned about this and of the belief that this makes their search experience more tailored. But what is the truth?

Marc continued: “Unfortunately we have been led to believe that tracking is a good thing. That it enables our searches to be fine-tuned so they are more relevant to us. But the reality is, these trackers follow you around the web recording your every movement, which in some situations result in a worse search experience, by bombarding you with tailored ads, giving alternative pricing based on your purchase history, creating filter bubbles, and so much more. Mojeek gives people the opportunity to stand up for their privacy, but also to experience unique and unbiased results without somebody looking over their shoulder. And maybe most importantly, a choice, a genuine alternative to the large corporate search engines.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by VPR .