Yahoo Search is one of the longest-running search engines on the internet, originally founded in 1994. Now owned by Apollo Global Management since 2021, it continues to operate as a major search portal. Yahoo Search relies on Microsoft Bing for its core search results while adding its own features like Yahoo Scout, an AI-powered answer engine.

Privacy and Security

Yahoo collects extensive user data including IP addresses, search queries, browsing behavior, location data, and device information through cookies, beacons, and tracking pixels. While Yahoo offers some privacy controls, its default data collection is comprehensive. In 2024, the French data protection authority CNIL fined Yahoo 10 million euros for failing to respect users' right to refuse cookies.

Data Concerns

• Collects IP addresses, search queries, and browsing behavior on every interaction
• Data stored on servers distributed globally, primarily US-based
• EU/EEA/UK user data transferred to the United States
• Subject to US surveillance laws and government data access requests
• Search user log data de-identified within 18 months, IP addresses within 6 months
• Fined 10 million euros by French CNIL in 2024 for GDPR cookie violations
• Owned by Apollo Global Management, a US private equity firm
• Relies on Microsoft Bing for search results, adding another US data handler