• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 24, 2019

Microsoft picked up another search partner, the French search engine Qwant. The two companies have partnered to create what they call “a more private online search experience.”

Qwant has developed a privacy feature to improve the quality of search results and advertising without collecting personal data. 

The company said it will rely on Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Advertising and Bing’s algorithmic research to meet the growing demands of the European market, but will use its own technology, algorithm and client infrastructure to protect users. 

The partnership means that Qwant will become an option in future versions of the Edge browser. The search engine will also will have an option to use Microsoft technologies alongside its own for future projects, such developing an open-source “trust platform” to manage content and copyright in line with the European Copyright Directive.

Qwant also said it will donate at least 5% of its advertising revenue to French media companies -- similar to Microsoft’s $750 million donation to publishers since 2015 -- to sustain journalism.