Search engine Luxxle challenging Google with lenses for searching online – Washington Examiner
Luxxle, a new search engine platform that launched in 2022, is aiming to challenge dominant players like Google by offering a novel search experience that prioritizes user control, unbiased and privacy-protected results. Created by tech entrepreneurs in 2018 who noticed a lack of diverse perspectives in existing search engines, Luxxle allows users to filter search results based on political leanings through a feature called ‘lenses.’ According to Luxxle spokeswoman Molly Koweek, this approach ensures an even distribution of ideological perspectives, contrasting with the left-leaning results typically seen on other platforms. The main hurdle for Luxxle is gaining recognition in a market where major brands like Google are deeply entrenched in consumer habits. Koweek emphasized the need for increased media attention and user acquisition to overcome this challenge, believing that once people try Luxxle, they recognize its value and do not revert to other search engines. Luxxle also facilitates identification of source bias using various tools, including self-identification by sources and third-party assessments. This element of transparency and choice, according to Koweek, sets Luxxle apart in the search engine market.
Rising search engine platform Luxxle is competing against Google by offering users a new way to navigate the internet and letting them use lenses to filter searches by political leaning.
“It takes an entirely different approach than any of the other search engines out there,” Luxxle spokeswoman Molly Koweek told the Washington Examiner. “Our approach is one that you won’t see with any other search engine. We offer far better results, unbiased results, superior privacy.”
“It’s just a much more enhanced experience and one that really puts the users in control,” she said.
Luxxle began in 2018 when tech entrepreneurs noticed a lack of perspective in traditional search engines, according to Koweek.
The engine launched in 2022, and the biggest challenge when competing with platforms like Google is name recognition, she said.
“Really just getting our name out there. When people think of the big search engines, they’ll use it as a verb. They’ll say, ‘I have to Google this,’” Koweek said. “It’s so ingrained in people’s minds that they think of that as the only option.”
Overcoming that obstacle requires a constant push for media attention and user growth.
“There is a need for a search engine that is unbiased, that doesn’t censor content, and as soon as people learn about us, they don’t go back,” Koweek said.
When searching “trump verdict” on Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, the “top news spots” presented to searchers were all left-leaning, according to a study conducted by Luxxle and shared with the Washington Examiner.
“On Luxxle, 50% of the top 14 news spots are lean left and 50% are lean right,” the study read. “Then, with the lenses filters, you can decide if you just want to see content that leans left or leans right.”
Determining whether a source is right-leaning or left-leaning is the product of various measurement tools, according to Koweek.
“Often, the sources will self-identify,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Hey, we are a conservative publication.’ They’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re a liberal publication.’ So that makes it very easy. Other than that, we have a couple of different third-party providers we use to kind of check and see how they’re ranking these sources in terms of right and left.”
Sorting by a political lens is just one option provided to users by the platform.
“There’s nothing else like lenses in search,” Koweek said. “Let’s say you’re searching for something highly newsworthy, whether it be Biden, whether it be Trump, whether it be something happening in Congress … right at the top of your search, you’re going to see a box that says ‘lenses.’”
“You’ll have the option to only view sources through the left lens. That means you can only see sources that lean left. You can decide to only see sources through the right lens, which means only sources that lean right. Or, you don’t have to do that,” she said.
Further sorting tools include those focused on overall algorithm, freshness, and alphabetic order.
Traditional search engines have long been accused of presenting the search results they want users to see and collecting personal data to use for profit.
“We do not track our users. We do not sell their data,” according to Koweek. “That is something we are extremely firm on. In fact, we encourage to take their privacy just as seriously because Luxxle can take your privacy seriously, but we also encourage people to use a privacy-conscience browser and a VPN to have that added layer of security.”
The 2024 election cycle provides a great opportunity for users to profit from an unbiased search engine and allow Luxxle to build its brand, Koweek said.
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“In an election year, people need information. They need to know about the issues,” she said. “They need to know about the candidates, and they need to be able to trust that their search engine isn’t censoring them from that information.”
“Maybe your ideas might align with the big search engines. So, the sources that you’re seeing are in line with your general beliefs, but you can’t trust that you’re getting the full perspective. You’re only trusting that you’re getting the sources that are in line with your beliefs. With Luxxle, it’s an entirely different experience,” she said.
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