At Tempest, we’re on a mission to increase privacy and data security online. With products like Tempest Search and Tempest Browser, we prioritise the needs of individuals, not the interests of those who profit from your personal information.
Our goal with Tempest is to make private search accessible to everyone. We’ve dedicated years to refining and perfecting our products, ensuring that they deliver user experience on par with the search engines we’re all familiar with.
The key difference is that we strip away the intrusive tracking and data collection practices – Tempest’s products don’t capture or store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), they are tracker-free, and they don’t collect your search history. We launched our search engine and browser in March this year and since then we’ve been working towards making Tempest available on all operating systems and mobile devices.
How did you come up with the idea for Tempest?
The idea for Tempest was born out of personal experiences and a strong belief in protecting user privacy. My co-founder, Sean, and I have witnessed firsthand how marketers, data brokers, and even malicious actors can profit from mining our personal data. It’s disheartening to see our private information being exploited for financial gain.
We firmly believe that individuals should have control over their data and be equipped with the necessary tools to maintain its privacy as personal information should remain just that – personal. Sadly, the current options force people to choose between mainstream search engines that prioritise profits over privacy, or private alternatives that lack a seamless user experience. We felt compelled to create something better for everyone and Tempest is the result of that.
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How has Tempest evolved over the last couple of years?
Our journey began in 2018, and it has been an exhilarating ride ever since. For five years, we operated in stealth mode, perfecting our products and user experience. We knew that if we were going to make a lasting impact and achieve widespread adoption, our user experience had to be solid and familiar. At the same time, we were determined to develop privacy focused features that enhance user privacy and data security.
Now, we find ourselves at an exciting intersection.
We have passed that start-up phase now and have a global team spanning across 10 countries. We have full confidence in the quality of our products, which offer a comparable, if not superior, experience to traditional search engines. A big part of what we do is to continue to innovate and respond to user feedback.
What can we hope to see from Tempest in the future?
Our vision for the future is to revolutionise the search landscape and ensure that private search becomes a viable choice for everyone. Achieving widespread adoption requires more than just gaining market share; we also aim to educate people about the alarming ways their personal data is used and abused by companies.
While we are all for embracing the transformative potential of Generative AI in search, it is paramount that we prioritise privacy and safety in that future. Our focus now is on turning this vision into a tangible reality.
