A poll of 295 Web searchers who are readers of technology blogs found that 62 percent do not trust their search engine with their information.
However, users disclosed the most important issues search engines can address to win users’ trust. Users said they would prefer search engines not to stores any data at all, and users wanted editing permission over the data search engines keep.
The survey was conducted from May 30 to July 17 by hakia.com, a new meaning-based search engine.
Respondents also said they want engines to b e transparent about the filtering they use to display results, capture information and disclose biases.
Ten percent of respondents want the opportunity to opt out at will.
Respondents would also prefer search engines to empower users to manage and improve the relevancy of their own search results, have regular open conversations with users on the use of user data and g ive users the tools to curate and prune search history.
