Plant trees while you're on the internet! That would be fantastic, wouldn't it? You don't have to do anything but use the search engine, and you're helping Mother Nature at the same time. You're going to search the internet anyhow, so why not help the environment while you're doing it?
On the other hand, you're not the first person to squint their eyes in bewilderment when reading it. The entire concept appears to be a little too nice to be true. Let's take a closer look at Ecosia and determine if they're trustworthy.
Ecosia in Its Purest Form
So, what is Ecosia, exactly? To put it another way, it's a free search engine that makes money from advertisements. This ad revenue, on the other hand, is used to plant trees – a sizable portion of it goes to tree-planting organizations. There's no need to install anything. Save the Ecosia homepage to your favorites and continue searching the web as usual.
So, what does the business have to offer? First and foremost, they commit to dedicate at least 80% of their ad income profits to tree-planting efforts. They also claim complete transparency by releasing proof of financial backing. They guarantee outstanding search results. Ecosia uses Bing technology for its searches. Ecosia further adds to this technology by using proprietary algorithms.
They also guarantee to be totally CO2-neutral at all times. Ecosia does not produce any carbon emissions as a result of your searches.
So, Can They Be Trusted?
Ecosia.org is a B Corporation accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Ecosia is a for-profit firm as a result of this. The "B," on the other hand, refers to the fact that Ecosia received its certification from B Lab, a non-profit organization.
There are a few things that come to mind that they could be doing to try to mislead users if they wanted to, such as:
- Not planting the trees they claim to
- Collecting user data to resell or other privacy issues
- Offering misleading search results for their gain
- Monitoring your data illegally with their browser extension
I think the big concern here is that they might not be planting the trees they claim to be. In 2020 Ecosia claims to have surpassed 100 million trees planted.
While this is far less than the 1.5 trillion trees needed to neutralize the carbon we've deposited to the climate since the Industrial Revolution, it's still no laughing matter. After all, Ecosia is still a small company with only 8 million users (although this is growing really fast).
This isn't anything we can evaluate in terms of deceiving search results or data collection. However, considering the Ecosia team's track record, I'm convinced they aren't aiming to defraud people.
Ecosia, on the other hand, has been criticized by a few websites, including an article from 2Spyware that claims Ecosia is a browser hijacker and borderline malware.
While you can't really argue with 2Spyware's allegations, bear in mind that what they say about Ecosia also applies to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and any other search engine you use.
Ecosia, they believe, may hijack your search results and insert advertisements... We're trying to pay for trees here, so that's exactly the goal! But they do it in the same way that Google displays adverts in your search results; the difference is that instead of planting trees, Google distributes the proceeds to its investors.
They even mention things like "getting rid of the Ecosia virus," which I find ridiculous. This article appears to have been created by someone who has never used Ecosia and was told to write about Ecosia being a virus in order to increase search traffic.
While I believe the claims leveled against Ecosia are unfounded, I equally recognize that they could be genuine, just as Google could be a virus.
My advise is to look into the Ecosia team and see if they're somebody you'd be comfortable entrusting your internet data to. I'm not worried about an ecosia.org virus, personally.
Several people have wrote in to question if Ecosia is a complete hoax. Many people want to know if there's an Ecosia Snopes article that can back up their assertions. In this piece, I'm doing my best to fill those shoes and more.
It usually boils down to the four points I mentioned before, but many people who write in aren't sure if the extension will work at all. You'll see in the next paragraphs that, whatever else you can say about Ecosia, their product is unmistakably real, so I believe we can put that to rest.
Why Should You Use Ecosia?
Ecosia claims that every 30 seconds, the company assists in the planting of a tree. It's a significant quantity, as it equates to about 3,000 trees per day.
A counter in the top-right corner of the page encourages users to conduct more searches (and thereby plant more trees). Around 45 searches will result in the planting of a single tree. It's a great feeling to know that you've assisted in the planting of a tree. The best part is that you don't have to donate any money and that all you have to do is bookmark and search the page.
Are they going to actually plant trees?
Ecosia thus assists in the planting of trees. Many trees have been destroyed by bushfires and forest fires around the world in recent years. The most recent Australian bushfire has been burning for months.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide as well as producing oxygen. They're an important instrument in the fight against climate change. Trees also help to minimize soil erosion and absorb toxins in the air. The ecological and water cycles are also aided by forests. Trees are essential to the survival of our tiny blue planet.
As a result, by planting a few trees every few days, you may help raise global awareness in this area. The best part is that you don't have to do much to make a difference.
Ecosia is fantastic!
Ecosia currently falls short of Google in a few categories. Whether or not Ecosia is still effective will be determined by your level of commitment to environmental protection. If we don't want our grandkids to end up living in climate-controlled glass bubbles, we'll have to start making lifestyle tradeoffs sooner or later.
What I've chosen to do is set Ecosia as my default search engine, and if it doesn't produce the results I'm searching for, I'll use the wonderful shortcuts that a friend recommended.
I'm hoping that Ecosia develops some more capabilities in the coming years so that I won't have to use Google at all.
I'm concerned that if a person isn't willing to sacrifice a little of their search engine's utility for the benefit of the environment, are they willing to give anything?
