Pew Research Center

FOR RELEASE AUGUST 9, 2007

Search Privacy Practices

What if your search queries for the last 18 months were archived along with your IP address? Would anything embarrassing come up, like how many times you searched for your own name or the name of your ex?

BY Susannah Fox

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:

Communications Department
202.419.4372
www.pewresearch.org

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Pew Research Center, August 2007, "Search Privacy Practices"

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  • About Pew Research Center

Search Privacy Practices

What if your search queries for the last 18 months were archived along with your IP address? Would anything embarrassing come up, like how many times you searched for your own name or the name of your ex?

What if your search queries for the last 18 months were archived along with your IP address? Would anything embarrassing come up, like how many times you searched for your own name or the name of your ex? Would you want keywords shared with a third party, like an advertiser, who might then tailor their pitch to account for your interest in Tex-Mex food, silly cat pictures, and kidney cancer? If these questions are starting to make you uncomfortable, check out the “Search Privacy Practices” report released this week by the Center for Democracy & Technology.