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What is OneSearch?
OneSearch is a search experience with enhanced privacy features. For example, when you use OneSearch Advanced Privacy Mode, your search terms are encrypted, and search history links for your OneSearch search results expire after one hour. If someone else uses your device, or if you share a search result link with someone else, after one hour your search results from OneSearch will no longer be available at that link.
OneSearch doesn't use cookies to uniquely identify you or track your online behavior, doesn't share your personal data with advertisers, doesn't allow ad retargeting, and doesn't support behavioral retargeting of users.
How does OneSearch encryption work?
OneSearch encrypts your search terms to be more secure, and the search URL is built using the encrypted search terms. The encrypted search terms are transmitted to the server, and the server decrypts the search terms to perform the search. OneSearch uses SHA1 with RSA-OAEP (Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding) to encrypt your search terms.
The encryption key expires after one hour, providing another layer of security. Once the key expires, any search term encrypted with that key can't be easily decrypted. This effectively causes search history links that make use of encrypted search terms to expire, which protects against third parties accessing your OneSearch search history through the browser history on your device once the encryption key has expired.
If you're using OneSearch to conduct searches on a desktop or mobile web browser, Advanced Privacy Mode must be enabled to encrypt your search terms and expire your search history links. Advanced Privacy Mode is enabled by default on the OneSearch mobile app for Android and iOS, and can't be disabled.
Does OneSearch protect my privacy on other sites I visit?
OneSearch does not (and cannot) protect your privacy on other websites you visit, or apply OneSearch features to other websites. This includes any third-party websites you visit when clicking links in the OneSearch search results list.
How do I use OneSearch Advanced Privacy Mode?
Advanced Privacy Mode can be enabled or disabled when searching with OneSearch from a desktop or mobile web browser, and is always enabled when using the OneSearch mobile app.
When you have OneSearch Advanced Privacy Mode enabled and perform a search using OneSearch, the search terms are encrypted and the search URL is built using the encrypted search terms. The encrypted search terms are transmitted to the server, and the server decrypts the search terms to perform the search. Search history links for encrypted searches expire after one hour, further enhancing search privacy.
If you turn Advanced Privacy Mode off, your search terms won't be encrypted and your search history links won't expire after one hour.
To enable Advanced Privacy Mode using a desktop or mobile web browser:
- Go to OneSearch.
- Toggle the Advanced Privacy Mode slider to the right
- Verify the status is Advanced Privacy Mode On.
To disable Advanced Privacy Mode using a desktop or mobile web browser:
- Go to OneSearch.
- Toggle the Advanced Privacy Mode slider to the right.
- Verify the status is Advanced Privacy Mode Off.
Customize search settings in the OneSearch mobile app
The OneSearch mobile app for iOS and Android lets you customize SafeSearch settings and choose the number of search results per page you'd like to see.
To customize your SafeSearch settings:
- Open the OneSearch app on your mobile device.
- Tap the Settings icon
- Choose a SafeSearch setting:
- Off: You want to see everything, including adult images and videos.
- Moderate: You're fine with adult text, but take a pass on adult images and videos.
- Strict: You don't want to see any adult text, images, or video
To customize the number of search results you see per page:
- Open the OneSearch app on your mobile device.
- Tap the Settings icon
- Tap Results Per Page.
- Choose from 10, 20, or 30 results per page.
- Click Done.
What does it mean to "expire search history links" for OneSearch searches?
When you have OneSearch Advanced Privacy Mode enabled, search history links for your OneSearch search results expire after one hour. If someone else uses your device, or if you share a search result link with someone else, after one hour your OneSearch search results are not available via the shared link.
When OneSearch Advanced Privacy Mode is turned off, search history links for your OneSearch searches do not expire after one hour. If the device used to conduct your search is shared with another person, your OneSearch search history links will remain accessible if the search history links are accessed in the device's browser history.
What does no cookies or tracking mean?
A cookie is a packet of information sent by a server to a web browser, and then sent back to the server by the browser each time the browser makes a request to that server. Cookies can be used to record your online browsing activity or to store other data. OneSearch doesn't use cookies to uniquely identify you, the user, or to track your online behavior.
How does OneSearch open up your search experience to a wide range of results?
OneSearch doesn't use your user data to optimize or filter your search results. This opens up your search experience to a wide and deep range of results, since your data isn't used to make assumptions about the information you want to see or to filter what's surfaced to you.
When user data is used by search algorithms to make assumptions about the information you're searching for, it can cause intellectual isolation, or what's sometimes called a "filter bubble" or "information bubble". The assumptions made are often based on prior click behavior, browsing and search history, and your location data. An algorithm may choose what you do and do not see in search results based on what it thinks you want to see, and in that situation you could wind up having less contact with viewpoints and perspectives that the algorithm calculates do not fit with your browsing or search history.
Why am I seeing ads related to my search terms on my search results page?
OneSearch runs contextual advertisements so OneSearch can be provided at no cost to users. The ads you see often reflect educated guesses about your interests based on your search keywords. For example, if you search for "cats", you may see an ad displayed for cat food or cat toys. For more information about contextual advertising on OneSearch and how we treat your information, please read the OneSearch privacy policy.
How does OneSearch treat my information?
Please read the OneSearch privacy policy to learn about the information we collect and how your information is treated.
Ads on the OneSearch search results page
OneSearch works to connect you with the products, services, and businesses you are looking for. When you search the Web using OneSearch, content on the search results page comes from a variety of sources.
OneSearch search results sources include:
- Algorithmic Web searches;
- Verizon Media content and third-party content relevant to your query;
- Content from advertisers who pay to appear in our search results; and
- Information from other partners with which Verizon Media may have a financial relationship.
Factors influencing displayed content on your search results page:
- Relevancy of the content to your search;
- Your city-level, general geolocation derived from your device’s IP address, which is used to narrow results so that you can get information such as local movie times, services, and nearby restaurants without needing to type the name of your city; and
- Our relationship with the content provider and the availability of quality content.
About Advertising
Revenue from online advertising makes it possible to provide the OneSearch service at no direct financial cost to you. This advertising may include text, images, and enhanced content, which Verizon Media has been paid to place in our search results.
How to identify online advertising
Advertisements will be labeled with the text "Ad", "Sponsored", or similar text; or labeled with an identifying icon
Other relationships
Verizon Media has a relationship(s) with content providers allowing us to feature certain content from these providers within the search results returned to you. Some of these relationships may be financial in nature. In some situations, such as when Verizon Media is not paid to place the content in a specific location on your screen, the content from these partners may not be labeled as an advertisement.