You.com, a new search engine, wants to change the way people search for information, and they may be on to something good. The timeline and history of search engines have not always been unkind to new talent and new ideas. Today, Google dominates the sector, but Alta Vista and Yahoo topped all search engine rankings twenty years ago. Archie, World Wide Web Worm, and other catalogs of web links ruled even before that.

Google started as a relatively small startup, but its impressive and unique algorithm made it one of the most popular search engines of all time. But Google's design and layout may be phasing out. And users around the world seem to be getting tired of data manipulation, privacy breaches, tracking and other Big Tech techniques.

Related: Brave's Secure Search Engine: Is It A Better Option Than Google Search?

You.com — launched in beta to the public — sets out not only to end Google's days of glory but to change the way billions use the internet every day. The search engine offers privacy, a no-ads policy, the end of first pages modified by paid interests and the end of long lists of results that force people to open multiple tabs. In addition, their innovative design and carrousel style display allows users to swipe up, left, and right instead of just going down.

The Gatekeepers Of Internet

You.com Left And Right Swipe Search Results
Photo via You.com, a screen capture of Screen Rant search results.

The CEO of You.com, Richard Socher, began building his dream eight years ago but says the site is far from complete and that feedback and collaboration by users will give it its final shape. The company has $20 million in funding, and they say they will use it to maximize their technology, boost its reach, and get new users onboard. The company is questioning how Google understands search engines.

"Today, there's too much information, and no one has time to read it, process it, or know what to trust. A single gatekeeper controls the vast majority of the search market, dictating what you see: too many advertisements and a flood of search-engine-optimized pages," CEO Socher told Venture Beat. "On top of that, 65 percent of search queries end without a click on another site, which means traffic stays within the Google ecosystem."

According to StatCounter, Google accounts for 92 percent of all searches worldwide. Google already faces two state-led antitrust lawsuits and a federal case in the U.S. over alleged monopolistic behavior. Companies like DuckDuckGo, Brave, Ecosia and StartPage pledge to provide better privacy, but the experience of web-searching they offer is the same. You.com focuses on privacy and adds value with a new search model and ways users can interact with their searches. The biggest challenge they face is getting users to test their site and not be overwhelmed, bought out or copied by the search engine giant. According to TechCrunch, in private better, You.com had "a couple of thousand users."

Next: Apple's Rumored Search Engine: Everything We Know So Far

Source: You.com, Venture Beat, Tech Crunch