Here is something that people might be interested in: how search engines handle your privacy.  While some people might not really care about search engines collecting their search queries, others definitely will.  People don’t like having their search queries tied back to them, but unfortunately, it would be nearly impossible to change a search engines privacy policies without having any form of authority.  The best thing you can do is read their privacy policies and see how you are protected.  You might be surprised with the results.

Trying to learn how your favorite search engine protects your privacy can be as frustrating as a Where’s Waldo book: it’s not easy to find what you’re looking for, and doing it on multiple sites is even more irksome.

To help our readers evaluate the privacy differences between AOL, Ask.com, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, CNET News.com sent them a survey on August 6. We’ve published their answers–in the companies’ own words–below.

In some cases, we asked follow-up questions for clarification. If you have any suggestions for a future survey, send them along. And for background, here’s a similar survey we did last year.[more]

Tags: Privacy