We tested this using both Safari and DuckDuckGo’s iPhone app and found no third-party trackers. This means that advertisers cannot track and link your Ecosia search activity to an existing profile. DuckDuckGo also uses no trackers whatsoever-not even its own internal trackers.Įcosia promises not to allow third-party trackers on their searches. DuckDuckGo doesn’t even store an obfuscated IP address or your user agent string. This behavior isn’t quite as private as DuckDuckGo, which, according to its privacy policy, doesn’t collect or store any information. According to Ecosia, this includes your “IP address (obfuscated), user agent string, search term, and some settings like your country and language setting.” By default, Ecosia sets a Bing-specific identifier to “improve” search results, a feature that is disabled if your browser has the “ Do Not Track” flag enabled. Ecosiaįor the service to function, some information must be passed to Bing. DuckDuckGo also uses Bing for its searches, but explicitly states that this information isn’t collected or passed on in the first place. While Ecosia is arguably also a privacy-respecting search engine in some ways, its primary mission is to plant trees. In comparison, DuckDuckGo is entirely focused on privacy in all aspects of its operation.Įcosia states that it “will never share your searches with anyone except services that are directly involved in answering your search request, like Bing.” Ecosia is powered by the Yahoo! and Bing search algorithms. Search engines like Google have a poor track record when it comes to privacy, storing your search history in a profile that is used to serve you more relevant advertisements.Īs a result, many have ditched Google in favor of privacy-conscious search engines like DuckDuckGo. T-shirts are designed to be sent back, recycled, and reworked into new products after being used, further demonstrating Ecosia’s commitment to sustainability. When you do this, Ecosia claims to plant around 25 trees, depending on the value of your booking.Įcosia also has the Ecosia Shop, which sells merchandise like T-shirts, hoodies, and bags. Including the word “hotel” in your searches reveals a new search box at the top of results through which you can book accommodation. The search engine also has an affiliate program with HotelsCombined called Ecosia Travel. This number could be reduced dramatically depending on other factors, like whether you click on an advert and how “valuable” the search term is in terms of advertisement payout. This profit is then used to fund the planting of trees.Īccording to Ecosia, it takes about 45 searches to fund the planting of one new tree. Just like DuckDuckGo, affiliate ads that are displayed alongside search results enable the search engine to turn a profit. Converting Advertisements Into TreesĮcosia makes money like most other search engines: through advertisements. A total of 47% of revenue was used on taxes and operational costs, while 3% was used for advertising purposes. To break down the spending, Ecosia spent 40% of its revenue from this period on trees, with a further 10% going to green investments like solar plants and regenerative agriculture. In November of 2020, the search engine generated over €1.8 million ($2.2 million) and financed over 650,000 trees. The search engine regularly posts financial reports on its blog to disclose total monthly revenue and identify what percentage was used to plant trees. Trees are also planted in some of the poorest agricultural regions in the world to help restore soil, increase biodiversity, and provide alternatives to monoculture crops.Įcosia is transparent about its revenue and tree-planting activities. These efforts are focused mostly on biodiversity hotspots, which only make up around 2.3% of the earth’s surface, but nevertheless account for half of all unique plant species and over 40% of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. EcosiaĮcosia is currently committed to 20 tree-planting projects in 15 countries all around the world, from South American countries like Peru and Brazil to Madagascar and Ethiopia in Africa, and other countries, including Spain and Indonesia. The search engine is also concerned with the plight of animals around the world that are losing their habitats to deforestation. The service acknowledges that trees can help empower and lift vulnerable populations out of poverty through the regeneration of depleted soils and agroforestry food-growing programs.
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