Brave Is Launching a Privacy-Focused Search Engine to Compete with Google

Brave, the privacy-focused web browser, is currently preparing to launch its own search engine for desktop and mobile users, according to recent reports. The company’s goal is to offer a complete package of browsing and search untouchable by the Masters of the Universe.

TechCrunch reports that Brave, the privacy-focused browser co-founded by former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, is preparing to launch its own search engine. Last week Brave announced the acquisition of an open-source search engine developed by the team behind the Cliqz anti-tracking search-browser combo.

The newly acquired tech will support the new Brave Search engine, meaning that soon Brave will be promoting a search and browsing experience to its users that is entirely free of Big Tech’s influence.

In a press release, Brave states: “Under the hood, nearly all of today’s search engines are either built by, or rely on, results from Big Tech companies. In contrast, the Tailcat search engine is built on top of a completely independent index, capable of delivering the quality people expect but without compromising their privacy. Tailcat does not collect IP addresses or use personally identifiable information to improve search results.”

Cliqz, a privacy-focused European fork of the Firefox browser, shut down last May after its main investor, Hubert Burda Media, called an end to the firm’s efforts to offer an alternative to Google. Members of the former Cliqz development team, who had been working on Tailcat, are moving to Brave as part of the acquisition.

Eich told TechCrunch:

Tailcat is a fully independent search engine with its own search index built from scratch. Tailcat as Brave Search will offer the same privacy guarantees that Brave has in its browser.

Brave will provide the first private browser+search alternative to the Big Tech platforms, and will make it seamless for users to browse and search with guaranteed privacy. Also, owing to its transparent nature, Brave Search will address algorithmic biases and prevent outright censorship.