Swisscows
{{short description|Web search engine operated by Hulbee AG}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Swisscows
| logo = Swisscows_logo.png
| logocaption =
| logo_size = 150
| screenshot = Swisscows_screenshot_2019.png
| caption =
| url = {{URL|https://www.swisscows.com}}
| commercial =
| type = Web search engine
| registration =
| language = Multilingual
| num_users =
| content_license =
| programming language =
| owner = Hulbee AG
| location = Egnach, Arbon District, Thurgau, Switzerland
| author = Andreas Wiebe
| editor =
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2014|6|26}}
| revenue =
| current_status = Online
| footnotes =
}}
Swisscows is a web search engine launched in 2014, a project of Hulbee AG, a company based in Egnach, Switzerland.{{Cite web|url=https://swisscows.ch/en/imprint|title=Imprint - Swisscows|website=swisscows.ch}}{{Cite web|url=https://lenews.ch/2014/09/02/swisscows-search-engine/|title=Swiss search engine jumps for moon|date=September 2, 2014|website=Le News}}
History
Swisscows was founded in 2014 by Andreas Wiebe.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Internet search services: Europe's quest for online privacy {{!}} DW {{!}} 04.08.2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/internet-search-services-europes-quest-for-online-privacy/a-54428309 |access-date=2021-03-30 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en-GB}}
As of 2018, there were 20 million monthly search queries, according to Hulbee CEO, Andreas Wiebe.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/dd8824e6f9424439b66e3992882b5c0b|title=European privacy search engines aim to challenge Google|date=November 22, 2018|website=AP NEWS}}
In January 2021, the company launched TeleGuard, a messaging app that intends to focus on privacy and data protection.{{Cite web|url=https://www.itmagazine.ch/artikel/73834/Instant_Messenger_Teleguard_ohne_persoenliche_Angaben_nutzbar.html | title=Instant Messenger Teleguard ohne persönliche Angaben nutzbar | website=itmagazine.ch | date=January 20, 2021}}
Operation
Swisscows uses semantic data recognition that gives faster answers to queries and claims to not store users' data.{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Jason |title=You mean there are other options? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/branded-content/marketing-guides/alternatives-to-google/ |access-date=2021-03-30 |website=The Daily Telegraph |date=7 February 2019 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Swiss software company Hulbee AG launches smart and secure search engine Startupticker.ch | The Swiss Startup News channel |url=https://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/june-2014/swiss-software-company-hulbee-ag-launches-smart-and-secure-search-engine |website=www.startupticker.ch}}{{Cite web |title=On practicing safe search: fine tuning, privacy-friendly searches, and learning more — @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch |url=http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2018/07/22/on-practicing-safe-search-fine-tuning-and-meeting-swisscows-and-other-privacy-friendly-searches/ |website=blogs.slj.com|date=22 July 2018 }}
Swisscows also deems itself family-friendly, with explicit results entirely omitted.{{Cite web |date=9 July 2018 |title=Avoid Google and Bing: 7 Alternative Search Engines That Value Privacy |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-privacy-focused-search-engines/ |website=MakeUseOf}}
The engine's servers are based in underground data centers under the Swiss Alps, and geographically outside of EU and US.{{Cite web |title=Datacenter - Swisscows |url=https://swisscows.ch/en/datacenter |website=swisscows.ch}}
Swisscows uses Bing for web search, but has also built its own index for the German language edition.{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2018 |title=European Davids vs Goliath: Privacy search engines aim to challenge Google | Financial Post |work=Financial Post |url=https://business.financialpost.com/technology/european-privacy-search-engines-aim-to-challenge-google}}
It also has shopping search, music search (powered by SoundCloud), and a language translator powered by Yandex.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.swisscows.com Official Website]
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Category:Internet search engines
Category:Internet properties established in 2014
Category:Swiss companies established in 2014
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