SAN FRANCISCO -- Ask.com unveiled Tuesday a "privacy switch" that lets users completely erase their search queries and related data from the search engine's servers.

The new feature, dubbed AskEraser, gives users control over whether their information is retained by the search engine. Company officials and privacy advocates hope the "privacy switch" will pressure other Internet companies to follow suit.

"Anywhere that you log into, anywhere where you put in personalized information, there should be a way - an easy way - to control how that information is used and retained," said Doug Leeds, senior vice president at Ask.com, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp. "We are giving users the ability themselves to take control of their privacy."

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