Cliqz

Cliqz was a privacy-oriented web browser and search engine developed by Cliqz GmbH and majority-owned by Hubert Burda Media. It is available as a desktop and mobile web browser as well as an extension for Firefox itself.[5][6]

Cliqz
Cliqz browser start page
Developer(s)Cliqz GmbH
Initial release2015 (2015)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android1.9.7 / April 4, 2020 (2020-04-04)[1]
iOS3.6.2 / June 3, 2020 (2020-06-03)[2]
Desktop1.36.0 / May 14, 2020 (2020-05-14)[3]
Repository
Written inC, C++, JavaScript, XML User Interface Language, XML Binding Language, Rust
Operating systemWindows 7 or later, macOS, Linux, RISC OS, Android, iOS
LicenseMPL/GPL/LGPL
Websitewww.cliqz.com
search4tor7txuze.onion (Accessing link help)[4]

Composition

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.

History

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.[6]

On 15 February 2017, Cliqz International GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cliqz GmbH, acquired the privacy-oriented browser extension Ghostery.[7][8]

On 29 April 2020, Cliqz announced it will shut down its browser and search engine. [9]

Integration with Firefox

On 6 October 2017, Mozilla announced a test where approximately 1% of users downloading Firefox in Germany would receive a version with Cliqz software included. The feature provided recommendations directly in the browser's search field, including 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."[10]

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. Interaction data collected and sent to the Mozilla corporation includes amongbacked 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.[11]

iOS app

In 2018, Cliqz released a version of their browser for iOS called Lumen. It natively leveraged Cliqz's search engine, Human Web, supported ad-blocking and other privacy feature like an optional built-in VPN with access to 25 countries. The VPN network was owned and managed as part of a partnership with FoxyProxy. Lumen was financially profitable, but discontinued on May 1, 2020 because of changing directions at Cliqz.

References
  1. "Cliqz - the Privacy Browser - Apps on Google Play". Google Play Store. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. "Cliqz Browser on the App Store". iOS App Store. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. "Releases · cliqz-oss/browser-core". GitHub. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. "Cliqz Search as an Onion Service". Cliqz. 5 December 2019.
  5. Lomas, Natasha (15 February 2017). "Private search browser Cliqz buys Ghostery ad-tracker tool". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  6. Lomas, Natasha (23 August 2016). "Mozilla invests in Germany's Cliqz, a private search browser". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  7. Vincent, James (15 February 2017). "Ghostery has been bought by the developer of a privacy-focused browser". The Verge. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  8. Ghostery Team (15 February 2017). "Ghostery is Acquired by Cliqz! - Ghostery". Ghostery.com. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  9. Stommel, Dorothee (29 April 2020). "Cliqz closes areas for browser and search technologies". Burda.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. Osborne, Charlie (9 October 2017). "Mozilla pilots Cliqz engine in Firefox to slurp user browsing data". ZDNet. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  11. Savage, Joni. "Cliqz Recommendations in Firefox". Mozilla Support. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.

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