Qwant
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| Société par actions simplifiée | |
| Industry | Web search engine |
| Founded | Paris, France (February 16, 2013) |
| Founder | Jean-Manuel Rozan Éric Leandri Patrick Constant |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Website | www |
Qwant is a French company that was founded by security specialist Éric Leandri, investor Jean Manuel Rozan and search-engine expert Patrick Constant in 2011. It launched its eponymous web search engine in July 2013. It claims not to employ user tracking, and it doesn't personalise search results in order to avoid trapping users in a filter bubble.
The website processes well over 10 million search requests per day, spread over its three main entry points: the normal homepage, a 'lite' version which mimics Google's homepage, and a 'Qwant Junior' portal for children that filters results.
The company claims it makes money through commissions it receives when users visit websites like eBay and Tripadvisor from its search results.
In March 2017, press articles suggest that Qwant search results are mainly based on Bing search results, except in France and Germany. Qwant also confirmed the use of Bing advertising network.
The search engine entered public beta in 16 February 2013, after two years of research and development. The service initially launched on February 16, 2013, as a beta version, with a stable version released on July 4, 2013. A new version was made available in April 2015.
Qwant offers several ways to filter results to areas of interest:
In October 2015, Qwant released Qwant Lite, a lighter and faster version of Qwant.com, aimed at being user-friendly for those with older browsers and others that do not have powerful or resource-rich computers. Integrated features like video playback and JavaScript were removed and the on-site content was streamlined. The design of this version mimics that of Google's minimalist interface.
The child-friendly version was developed in cooperation with the French ministry of education.
According to its founder, Qwant does not want to compete with Google but prefers "to show something different". Users can create a free account, which allows posting on the 'boards', a feature with functions similar to those of a social bookmarking platform.
The company was cofounded in 2011 by Jean-Manuel Rozan, a financier, and Éric Leandri, a specialist in computer security. It employs between 25 and 50 people, spread over three French cities, including Paris and Ajaccio, Corsica.
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