Cliqz

Cliqz
Cliqz browser start page
Developer(s) Cliqz GmbH
Initial release 2015 (2015)
Stable release(s)
1.20.0 (30 May 2018 (2018-05-30)[1]) [±]
Repository
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Written in C, C++, JavaScript, XML User Interface Language, XML Binding Language, Rust[2]
Operating system Windows 7 or later, macOS, Linux, RISC OS, Android, iOS
License MPL/GPL/LGPL
Website www.cliqz.com

Cliqz is a web browser developed by Cliqz GmbH. It is a fork of the Firefox web browser with privacy-oriented changes, among which are a crowdsourced anti-tracking mechanism and an in-house search engine embedded within the browser, utilizing its own index of web pages to produce suggestions within the address bar dropdown menu rather than on separate pages. The browser's developers argued that other privacy-focused search engines may still pass the user's IP address to third-party search providers. Cliqz is available as a desktop and mobile web browser as well as an extension for Firefox itself.[3][4]

Cliqz is majority-owned by Hubert Burda Media. In August 2016, Mozilla, developer of Firefox, made a minority investment in Cliqz. Cliqz plans to eventually monetize the software through a program known as Cliqz Offers, which will deliver sponsored offers to users based on their interests and browsing history. However, these recommendations will be processed locally based on a remote repository of offers, with no personally identifiable data sent to remote servers.[4]

On 15 February 2017, Cliqz International GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cliqz GmbH, acquired the privacy-oriented browser extension Ghostery.[5][6]

Integration with Firefox

On October 6, 2017, Mozilla announced a test where less than 1% of users downloading Firefox in Germany would receive a version with Cliqz software included. The feature provides recommendations directly in the browser's search field, for news, weather, sports, and other websites, based on the user's browsing history and activities. The press release noted that "Users who receive a version of Firefox with Cliqz will have their browsing activity sent to Cliqz servers, including the URLs of pages they visit," and that "Cliqz uses several techniques to attempt to remove sensitive information from this browsing data before it is sent from Firefox."[7]

According to the Firefox support website, this version of Firefox collects and sends data to the Cliqz corporation including text typed in the address bar, queries to other search engines, information about visited webpages and interactions with them including mouse movement, scrolling, and amount of time spent; and the user's interactions with the user interface of the Cliqz software. This data is tied to a unique identifier allowing Cliqz to track long-term performance. Interaction data collected and sent to the Mozilla corporation includes among other things, counts of visits to search engine pages, which search engines are used, and a Cliqz identifier. The data collection is enabled by default; users must actively opt-out if they do not wish the data to be transmitted.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Cliqz Browser Release Notes 1.20.0 (60.0.1+1.27.2)". Cliqz Blog. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Klabnik, Steve (23 February 2016). "Is it true that Mozilla wants to rewrite Firefox in Rust language for security reasons?". Quora. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (15 February 2017). "Private search browser Cliqz buys Ghostery ad-tracker tool". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 Lomas, Natasha (23 August 2016). "Mozilla invests in Germany's Cliqz, a private search browser". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Vincent, James (15 February 2017). "Ghostery has been bought by the developer of a privacy-focused browser". The Verge. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Ghostery Team (15 February 2017). "Ghostery is Acquired by Cliqz! - Ghostery". Ghostery.com. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Osborne, Charlie (October 9, 2017). "Mozilla pilots Cliqz engine in Firefox to slurp user browsing data". ZDNet. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  8. ↑ Savage, Joni. "Cliqz Recommendations in Firefox". Mozilla Support. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
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