Cliqz offers a browser and Firefox add-on with enhanced privacy protection. Now the Munich-based startup is acquiring the well-known anti-tracking extension Ghostery.
With the acquisition, Cliqz not only secures the technology behind the add-on, but also 10 million Ghostery users. With the deal, the company behind the browser extension Ghostery is abandoning its consumer brand and will focus on digital governance solutions for business customers under its original brand name, Evidon. The parties did not disclose the purchase price. Burda Media holds a majority stake in Cliqz, and Mozilla also holds a strategic minority stake. Jean-Paul Schmetz, founder of Cliqz says:
“The acquisition of Ghostery and 10 million users from all over the world is a big step on our path to becoming an international data protection technology leader.”
“Ghostery is in the best hands at Cliqz”
At the same time, Cliqz is entering into a cooperation with Evidon and will provide the former Ghostery provider with anonymized and aggregated data. This will allow Evidon to continue offering its services to business customers unchanged. Scott Meyer, CEO and co-founder of Evidon, is satisfied:
"The sale marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with Cliqz. Evidon will focus on serving the growing demand for our industry-leading enterprise digital governance solutions. Ghostery is in the best hands with Cliqz, a company focused on consumer privacy needs."
According to the company, the Cliqz browser does not store any data about individual users and at the same time protects the user from being spied on by third parties. In June 2016, Cliqz published the source code of its browser and Firefox extension. The company thus enables the tech-savvy public to verify its own data economy claims.
Pinpricks against Google?
As a result of the data protection features, it is more difficult for advertising providers such as Google to track Cliqz users. startup scene This is prompting speculation as to whether Cliqz might be a pinprick by Burda Publishing against Google. After all, Burda has actively advocated for ancillary copyright law. The law is intended to oblige search engines to pay publishers whose content they reproduce.
