Searching Internet-in Germany this means: Googling. On PCs, market share of group from California in Germany is close to 90 percent; On mobile devices, it is even 98 percent. Eric Leandri knows se numbers, of course. It is clear to him how difficult task he has made is to compete with his own search engine.

Especially with an argument he wants to move Internet users to switch-data protection. Because unlike Google, it has Qwant-so its company-is not based on user data. But if Qwant does not collect data, this renewable resource of information age, how does it earn its money? Leandri does not embarrass this question: "We simply do what Google did earlier." SAY: You place ads on pages. "By end of year we will be profitable," he announces.

The difference to Google: While advertising is personalized with help of collected data, Qwant plays same advertising for all users. "We stay with old-fashioned ad model without tracking." Tracking, that is, storing and tracking user movements on net, which is what leads, for example, to being bombarded on web for weeks with advertising to running shoes, once you have searched for it or even ordered it.

Internet search with good quality, but without data storage, promises French company Qwant. Screenshot: SZ

(Photo:) On first attempt 2014 flopped Qwant

It is already second time that Qwant wants to conquer German market, but first time, 2014 was, start was next to it. "The semantics were not good," says Leandri in retrospect self-critical, "we soon realized that we would need even longer." Semantics, in this context, refore, to adapt a search engine to peculiarities of a language, is not a small task. Qwant attacked m, and with support of European Investment Bank and French State Bank, which invested in Qwant, company also made great strides in technical equipment. In addition, Qwant has also set up an office in Berlin.

Alternate Help

To change search engine provider in browser Firefox: In Burger menu on far right (three horizontal strokes) Select point settings. Click on "Search" item in panel on left side of settings menu. Expand Selection menu above and select anor search engine. If search engine you are looking for is not re, click "Add more search Engines" link at bottom of page. A new browser window will open, clicking Add to Firefox button next to desired search engine entry. Now it can be selected as default search engine. The process can be reversed at any time. Helmut Martin-Jung

"2014, we were able to add only five million pages per day to index," says Leandri, "today it's 255 million." 16 billion page size is now already in directory. While French company Qwant cannot keep up with depths of Google, he says, "but 90 percent of queries deliver right and more or less same results as Google," promises Leandri. To background: Internet search engines do not look for Web, if you type something in Search window, but a previously created index. However, this has to be constantly updated, orwise you would not find current news, for example.

The Frenchman, who used to be responsible, among or things, for system security at central bank of his home country, does not really want to compete with Google eir. For one, company has long been much more than a search engine and, he says, also "no longer open to world". If you search for a piece of music, you will be directed to YouTube-to group's video offer.

Qwant sets value on data protection

Leandri wants to take on more with smaller competitors, with Yandex, for example, web search based in Russia. His goals sound modest, but, given dominance of Google, y are quite ambitious. Five to ten percent market share in web search wants to reach Leandri to 2020 in Europe; For Germany, it aspires to a share of two to four percent by end of 2018.

Leandri stresses that entire infrastructure, i.e. data centres in which requests of users are handled, are also in Europe and subject to European law. The basic Data Protection regulation, which will enter into force next year, is already fully Qwant now, he says.

The German market is particularly important to him. Finally, re is a strong awareness of data protection, which is why browser Firefox has highest market share here. "But many confuse browser with search engine," he says. Many would not even know how to put search engine in browser. So he wants to launch a big advertising campaign that explains exactly that. If you Qwant to site, he promises, " web looks like 2009". After 15 days, ads based on personal information would no longer be available. "You disappear from system, so to speak."

Date Of Update: 07 October 2017, 12:10