Ecosia#Ecosia Browser

File:Ecosia website showing tree counter, May 1 2023.png

Ecosia delivers a combination of search results from Yahoo!, Google,{{Cite web |date=26 September 2023 |title=Content and privacy changes |url=https://ecosia.helpscoutdocs.com/article/505-new-search-providers |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Ecosia}} Bing and Wikipedia.{{Cite news |last=Bearne |first=Suzanne |date=30 August 2020 |title=The search engine boss who wants to help us all plant trees |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53922786 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715135927/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53922786 |archive-date=15 July 2022 |access-date=15 July 2022 |work=BBC News |language=en}}

Advertisements are delivered by Yahoo! and Microsoft Advertising as part of a revenue sharing agreement with the company.{{Cite web |last=jlo |date=12 September 2014 |title=Ecosia: Eine Suchmaschine möchte den Regenwald retten |trans-title=A search engine wants to save the rain forest |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/alternative-suchmaschinen-googeln-fuer-den-regenwald-statt-fuer-google-1.2116129-2 |website=Sueddeutsche.de |language=de}}

The Ecosia Chat is an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI's API and features a unique green answers option.{{cite web |last=Ahlgren |first=Linnea |date=2023-12-04 |title=Tree-planting search engine Ecosia launches 'green' AI chatbot |url=https://thenextweb.com/news/tree-planting-search-engine-ecosia-launches-green-ai-chatbot |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=The Next Web}}

Freetree is a browser extension that lets users plant trees while they shop online.

Freetree's commission-based referral program works by giving a small percentage (around 2–3%{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}) of net sales to the referrer when a recommended customer makes a purchase.

The majority of this commission goes directly towards tree planting in Ecosia reforestation projects, while a small portion is used for the development and operation of Freetree as well as marketing efforts to attract more participants.{{Cite web |title=How does freetree work? |url=https://www.freetree.io/en/#pll_switcher |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Freetree}}{{Cite web |date=28 June 2023 |title=Introducing freetree: our new browser extension that lets you plant trees while you shop online |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/freetree/ |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Ecosia}}

The Ecosia Browser is a proprietary web browser based on Chromium. The browser has a built-in ad blocker, AI chatbot, and a climate pledge rating that assess a company’s pledges on environmental sustainability. Ecosia has also committed to producing 25Wh of renewable energy for each day that a user browses with the browser.{{cite web|last=Lawrence|first=Cate|title=Ecosia: the world's largest non-profit search engine launches eco-friendly browser|website=tech.eu|publisher=Fores Media Ltd.|date=April 22, 2024|url=https://tech.eu/2024/04/22/ecosia-the-world-s-largest-non-profit-search-engine-launches-eco-friendly-browser/|access-date=March 23, 2025}}{{Cite web |last=Hale |first=Craig |date=2024-04-22 |title=Ecosia launches plant-friendly cross-platform browser |url=https://www.techradar.com/pro/ecosia-launches-plant-friendly-cross-platform-browser |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=TechRadar |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-22 |title=Designed for you, built for the planet: the new Ecosia Browser |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/desktop-browser/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Ecosia Blog |language=en}}

Ecosia states in its privacy policy that it does not create personal profiles based on search history or use external tracking tools.{{Cite web |title=We protect your privacy |url=https://info.ecosia.org/privacy |website=info.ecosia.org}}

The IP address and search queries of the end user are given to either Microsoft Bing or Google to "provide search results and ads" and to "prevent bot attacks and frauds". This is sub-par when compared to the privacy policy of some other search engines also claiming to deliver private results and work in a similar manner.{{Cite web |title=We protect your privacy |url=https://www.ecosia.org/privacy |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=www.ecosia.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=DuckDuckGo Privacy Policy |url=https://duckduckgo.com/privacy |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=DuckDuckGo |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Brave Search |url=https://search.brave.com/help/privacy-policy |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Brave Search |language=en-us}}

Along with the said data being shared with again said parties, Ecosia also shares the end user IP address with Tripadvisor and Wikimedia when images from said services are displayed.{{Cite web |title=We protect your privacy |url=https://www.ecosia.org/privacy |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=www.ecosia.org |language=en}}

As for the Ecosia Chat, Ecosia retains queries to improve its service but does not store personal information.{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://www.ecosia.org/privacy |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=Ecosia}}{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/ |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=OpenAI}}

They do not share personal data with OpenAI; however, any information shared during chats is sent to OpenAI.{{Cite web |date=26 September 2023 |title=Ecosia Chat AI |url=https://ecosia.helpscoutdocs.com/article/534-ecosia-chat-ai |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=Ecosia Help Scout}}

Although the data from these chats will not be used to train OpenAI's models, chat data is stored in OpenAI's database for up to 30 days to access this data for issue resolution and conversation recovery.

File:Re publica 19 - Day 3 (46886393095) (cropped).jpg

The company uses renewable energy to power its servers and invests its profits in tree-planting projects, aiming to absorb more CO₂ than it emits.{{Cite web |title=Meet Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees |url=https://thecarbonalmanac.org/search/ |access-date=6 June 2024 |website=The Carbon Almanac |language=en-US}}

In October 2018, founder Christian Kroll announced he had given some of his shares to the Purpose Foundation.{{Cite web |last=Tönnesmann |first=Jens |date=24 October 2018 |title=Good bye, Frau Merkel |url=https://www.zeit.de/2018/44/gruendungspolitik-start-ups-jungunternehmer-umweltschutz-angela-merkel-gruene |access-date=24 October 2018 |website=Zeit.de |language=de}} As a result, Kroll and Ecosia co-owner Tim Schumacher gave up their right to sell Ecosia or take any profits out of the company.{{Cite web |last1=Köhn-Haskins |first1=Josefine |last2=Thomas |first2=Jan |date=9 October 2018 |title=Ecosia-Gründer Christian Kroll ist ein Überzeugungstäter |url=https://berlinvalley.com/ecosia-christian-kroll-ueberzeugungstaeter/ |access-date=24 October 2018 |website=Berlin Valley |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Dean |first=Grace |title=Search engine Ecosia plants trees in exchange for searches. It uses pay-per-click ads to fund projects that positively impact both people and nature. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ecosia-search-engine-plants-trees-searches-ads-germany-environment-2021-5 |access-date=4 August 2021 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}

Ecosia is also transparent about their financial status as their financial reports are readily available online on their website.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-22 |title=Ecosia's financial reports |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/ecosia-financial-reports-tree-planting-receipts/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=The Ecosia Blog |language=en}}

In 2022, Ecosia stated that it earns "a few cents" on every click of an ad, as well as a portion of the price of a purchase made through an affiliate link.{{Cite web |date=May 2022 |title=How does Ecosia use profits from ad income to finance tree planting? |url=https://ecosia.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201657811-How-does-Ecosia-use-profits-from-ad-income-to-finance-tree-planting- |access-date=21 October 2022 |website=Ecosia's FAQ}}

Ecosia has a long-standing relationship with Microsoft to keep its investment in infrastructure small, through the use of Bing's existing implementation and an ad revenue sharing agreement.{{Cite news |last=Holzki |first=Larissa |date=11 May 2021 |title=Suchmaschine Ecosia: Bäume bilanzieren statt Gewinne maximieren |trans-title=Ecosia search engine: taking stock of trees instead of maximizing profits |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/thespark/klimapioniere-suchmaschine-ecosia-baeume-bilanzieren-statt-gewinne-maximieren/27175820.html?ticket=ST-2591137-uK1DN1JLhM4ifSgImkmW-ap5 |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=Handelsblatt |language=de}}

In October 2020, Ecosia announced it had bought a 20% stake in the debit card company TreeCard.{{Cite web |title=TreeCard – The wooden debit card that plants trees |url=https://www.treecard.org/ |access-date=15 October 2020 |website=treecard.org}}{{Cite web |last=Paul Hill |date=15 October 2020 |title=Ecosia will fund tree-planting with spend on wooden debit card. |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ecosia-will-fund-tree-planting-with-spend-on-wooden-debit-card |access-date=15 October 2020 |publisher=Neowin |language=en}} Cards produced by TreeCard are made of British cherry wood instead of the customary plastics found in most other debit cards. It planned to launch a new debit card in 2021, in partnership with Mastercard.{{Cite web |last=Callum Borroughs |date=15 October 2020 |title=Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck a 23-year-old Y Combinator alum used to raise $1 million for ethical bank cards. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/treecard-eco-fintech-launches-with-1m-seed-funding-from-ecosia-2020-10?international=true&r=US&IR=T |access-date=15 October 2020 |publisher=Business Insider |language=en}} Ecosia intended to send 80% of its profits from the card to global reforestation projects.

In November 2024, Ecosia announced that it had partnered with Qwant in a joint-venture to build the European Search Index, a search index created to provide more localized search results in the French and German languages, and to reduce the reliance on Bing and Google.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=We're teaming up with Qwant to build a European search index |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/eusp/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Ecosia Blog |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |last=Dave |first=Paresh |title=Two Upstart Search Engines Are Teaming Up to Take on Google |url=https://www.wired.com/story/ecosia-qwant-eusp-take-on-google-search-index/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Ryan |date=2024-11-12 |title=European Google rivals partner on search engine infrastructure to counter Big Tech |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/12/ecosia-qwant-partner-on-search-engine-tech-to-counter-googles-power.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

{{primary sources section|date=May 2024}}

File:Ecosia Trees Map.svg

Ecosia, speaking in 2021, claims that each search removes 1 kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Ross |date=8 April 2021 |title=How Ecosia is helping tackle climate change, one click at a time |url=https://digit.fyi/ecosia-is-helping-tackle-climate-change-one-click-at-a-time/ |access-date=4 August 2021 |website=Digit News |language=en}}

In January 2023, Ecosia handled 0.29% of European search requests, behind DuckDuckGo's 0.53%, Bing's 3.65%, and Google's 92.23%.{{Cite web |date=22 December 2022 |title=Ranking of Internet search engines in Poland and worldwide for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. – Greenfields EN |url=https://green-fields.pl/en/blog/ranking-of-internet-search-engines/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130041730/https://green-fields.pl/en/blog/ranking-of-internet-search-engines/ |archive-date=2024-11-30 |access-date=4 February 2024 |language=en-US}}

As of 2024, Ecosia has handled 0.30% of European search requests and 0.09% of global search requests.{{Cite web |last=Guerrini |first=Federico |title=Ecosia's Path To A Sustainable, AI-Powered Search Engine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2024/11/26/ecosias-path-to-a-sustainable-ai-powered-search-engine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130041503/https://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2024/11/26/ecosias-path-to-a-sustainable-ai-powered-search-engine/ |archive-date=2024-11-30 |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

Over time, Ecosia has supported various tree-planting initiatives.

Ecosia uses 80% of its profits (47.1% of its income) from advertising revenue to support tree-planting projects.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Adam |date=27 January 2021 |title=Green search engine Ecosia partners with pro-privacy Brave browser |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ecosia-brave-default-tree-privacy-b1792985.html |access-date=4 August 2021 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

Ecosia is B Lab certified, having met its standards of accountability, sustainability, and performance. The company has been certified since April 2014.{{Cite web |title=Ecosia GmbH – Certified B Corporation – B Lab Global |url=https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/ecosia-gmbh |access-date=6 October 2023 |website=www.bcorporation.net |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Evon |first=Dan |date=27 August 2019 |title=Does Search Engine Ecosia Use Profits to Plant Trees? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ecosia-use-profits-to-plant-trees/ |website=Snopes.com}}

By July 2020, Ecosia had surpassed 100 million trees planted in total.

In June 2022 Ecosia had passed 150 million trees planted.{{Cite web |date=9 July 2020 |title=Ecosia users have planted 100 million trees: a milestone and a beginning! |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/100-million/ |website=The Ecosia Blog}}{{Cite web |last=Ohr |first=Thomas |date=9 July 2020 |title=Europe's green search engine Ecosia reaches milestone of 100 million trees planted |url=https://www.eu-startups.com/2020/07/green-search-engine-ecosia-reaches-100-million-trees-planted-milestone-in-fight-against-climate-crisis/}}{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Paul |date=1 July 2020 |title=Ecosia search engine approaches 100 million planted trees. |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ecosia-search-engine-approaches-100-million-planted-trees |access-date=13 June 2020 |website=Neowin |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Rice-Oxley |first=Mark |date=10 July 2020 |title=The Upside weekly report – Want to feel benefits of a break? Don't give up the day job ... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/10/want-feel-benefits-break-dont-give-up-the-day-job |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |language=en}}

In 2023, Ecosia also set up an incubator for regenerative agriculture, invested into climate tech solutions and diversified their search providers for an improved search experience.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

It was reported in the same month that Ecosia, on average, was able to fund a tree planting every 0.8 seconds – averaging 75 per minute or 108,000 per day – with the revenue it makes from advertising.

As of 1 February 2024, the company claims to have planted more than 200 million trees since its inception.{{Cite web |title=About Ecosia |url=https://ecosia.helpscoutdocs.com/article/406-about-ecosia |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=Ecosia Help Center |language=en}}{{Citation |title=200 MILLION Trees Planted — a message from Ecosia's founder | date=February 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLJYTHM5TP4 |access-date=1 February 2024 |language=en}}

File:Wolfgang Oels, COO von Ecosia, spricht bei Klima after Work (52339003256).jpg

Ecosia can be used on any web browser from ecosia.org. Web browsers can also be configured to use the search engine from a built-in user interface without having to load a web page first.

Ecosia can be made the default built-in search engine on Google Chrome,{{Cite news |last=De Andrado |first=Mahesh |date=12 May 2019 |title=Search online and plant a tree with Ecosia |url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190512/magazine/search-online-and-plant-a-tree-with-ecosia-348289.html |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=The Sunday Times Sri Lanka |language=en}} Firefox,{{Cite web |title=Ecosia — The search engine that plants trees 🌱 – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US) |url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ecosia-the-green-search |access-date=21 January 2020 |website=addons.mozilla.org |language=en-US}} Safari,{{Cite web |date=14 December 2020 |title=Ecosia now a default search engine option on iOS, iPadOS, macOS |url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/12/14/ecosia-now-a-default-search-engine-option-on-ios-ipados-macos |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=AppleInsider |language=en}} Microsoft Edge,{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Edge Addons |url=https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/ecosia-the-search-engin/fhfidmlnclkepgapcephbaciajegheco |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=microsoftedge.microsoft.com}} and other browsers as by downloading the extension from the Chrome Web Store or Mozilla's Add-on site, among others. In Mobile phones, Ecosia has its own Chromium-based web browser app in Google Play Store and App Store.

As of 26 January 2016, with its version 26 release, the Pale Moon web browser has included Ecosia as its default search engine, as has the Polarity web browser since its release in 15 February 2016.{{Cite web |title=Windows – Polarity |url=http://polarityweb.weebly.com/windows.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518140420/https://polarityweb.weebly.com/windows.html |archive-date=18 May 2019 |access-date=24 March 2016 |website=Polarity Weebly}} Ecosia also briefly was the default search engine of the Waterfox web browser starting with version 44.0.2.{{Cite web |title=Help Support Waterfox |url=https://www.waterfoxproject.org/support-waterfox |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413114416/https://www.waterfoxproject.org/support-waterfox |archive-date=13 April 2016 |access-date=31 May 2019 |website=Waterfox}} Vivaldi has included Ecosia as a default search engine option since its version 1.9 release.{{Cite web |last=Nestor |first=Marius |date=27 April 2017 |title=Vivaldi 1.9 Browser Is Out with Ecosia Search Engine to Help Reforest the Planet |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/vivaldi-1-9-browser-is-out-with-ecosia-search-engine-to-help-reforest-the-planet-515201.shtml |access-date=31 May 2019 |website=Softpedia}} In March 2018, Firefox 59.0 added Ecosia as a search engine option for the German version.{{Cite web |date=31 March 2019 |title=Release Notes for Firefox 59 |url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/59.0/releasenotes |access-date=31 May 2019 |website=Mozilla Foundation |publisher=Mozilla Corporation}}{{Cite web |date=March 2018 |title=Mozilla makes Ecosia a Firefox search option in Germany |url=http://documents.ecosia.org/369423/13865960 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811101016/http://documents.ecosia.org/369423/13865960 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |access-date=11 August 2018 |website=Ecosia}}

As of 12 March 2020, Ecosia was included as a default search engine option for Google Chrome in 47 markets, the first time a not-for-profit search engine appeared as a choice to users.{{Cite web |date=12 March 2020 |title=Tree planting search engine Ecosia is getting a visibility boost in Chrome |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/12/tree-planting-search-engine-ecosia-is-getting-a-visibility-boost-in-chrome/ |access-date=17 April 2020 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} On 14 December 2020, Apple's Safari web browser added Ecosia as a search engine option in macOS Big Sur 11.1 and iOS/iPadOS 14.3. On 28 January 2021, Ecosia became an official search engine on the Brave browser as a result of a partnership announced that day by both companies.{{Cite web |date=28 January 2021 |title=Introducing a better internet: Ecosia is now available on Brave, the privacy browser |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/brave/ |access-date=29 January 2021}}{{Cite web |date=28 January 2021 |title=Ecosia is now an Official Search Engine Option on Brave |url=https://brave.com/ecosia/ |access-date=29 January 2021}}

On 22 April 2024, Ecosia launched its own Chromium-based web browser for desktop users. The company also started to promote affiliate links to collect revenue from user purchases on sites such as Amazon.{{Cite web |last=Mehta |first=Ivan |date=22 April 2024 |title=Ecosia launches a cross-platform browser, starts an affiliate link program |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/22/ecosia-launches-a-cross-platform-browser-starts-an-affiliate-link-program/ |access-date=22 April 2024 |website=TechCrunch}}

On 17 December 2024, Mozilla announced their partnership with Ecosia. On 21 January 2025, Firefox added Ecosia as a default search option for users in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.{{Cite web |title=Mozilla partners with Ecosia for a better web {{!}} The Mozilla Blog |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/firefox-ecosia-partnership/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=blog.mozilla.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2025-01-21 |title=Ecosia is now available in Firefox: make an impact with just three clicks |url=https://blog.ecosia.org/ecosia-firefox-switch/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=The Ecosia Blog |language=en}}

An article in Ethical Consumer examined Ecosia and its relation to its search provider, Bing.

Giving Ecosia an "Ethiscore" of 11, in contrast to Google (5.5) and Microsoft Bing (6.5), Ethical Consumer found Ecosia to be superior to the other search engine companies it looked at, but marked it down in seven categories for its relationship with Microsoft (the lowest scorer in those categories).{{Cite magazine |last=Owens |first=Jasmine |date=4 March 2021 |title=How ethical is the search engine Ecosia? |url=https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/technology/how-ethical-search-engine-ecosia |access-date=5 August 2021 |magazine=Ethical Consumer}}

Ethical Consumer made a point of clarifying that it's not the actual searches which lead to tree planting, but the click-through of search engine users to the ads, and called for improved transparency concerning its relationship with Microsoft Bing.

On 12 August 2019, Ecosia announced it would not participate in the "search-choice" auction to appear on Android devices led by Google.{{Cite news |last=Oates |first=John |date=12 August 2019 |title=Green search engine Ecosia thinks Google's Android auction stinks, gives bid a hard pass |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/08/12/green_search_engine_rejects_googles_android_auction_offer/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=The Register |language=en}} This meant that in 2020, European Android phone users did not have the option to set Ecosia as a default search engine.

Christian Kroll explained the boycott decision saying,

"We're deeply disappointed that Google has decided to exploit its dominant market position in this way. Instead of giving wide and fair access, Google has chosen to give discrimination a different form and make everyone else but themselves pay, which isn't something we can accept".

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