How to do without Google? This is the problem facing the Chinese manufacturer Huawei, the second largest seller of phones in the world, behind Samsung but ahead of Apple. Suspecting Huawei of spying for the benefit of the Chinese government, the United States prohibited it last year from using the ecosystem of Android applications (Google, Maps, Gmail, etc.) for its smartphones. Huawei therefore had to find alternatives. And cocorico: for its search engine, the Chinese giant has chosen Qwant, the little Frenchman who respects the privacy of users.
Go towards more privacy
Concretely, Qwant will be installed automatically as a search engine, in place of Google, on the Internet browser of Huawei P40 range phones (available in France from April 21). This concerns models sold in France, Germany and Italy. "We started talking at the end of 2018 and the collaboration was very natural," explains Jean-Claude Ghinozzi, CEO of Qwant, at the microphone of Europe 1. The search engine model is based on respect for life. privacy of users and the promise not to collect or resell their personal data.
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"We clearly insisted, from the start of the discussions, on our alternative positioning which is very clear and absolutely not negotiable. Huawei accepted it without problem, they wanted to move towards more respect for the privacy of users", assures the CEO of Qwant. Message also hammered by the director general of Huawei Consumer France, Alex Huang: "It was important that we can guarantee a high level of security to our customers when it comes to their research data on the Internet. Qwant is the best partner that we can choose. "
Qwant is trying to revive
This announcement offers a breath of fresh air to Qwant who entered the year in a very complicated position. Shaken by investigations into internal managerial practices, founder Éric Léandri agreed to leave the presidency of the company. At the same time, the lack of significant results after all the same almost ten years of existence began to weigh in the accounts (Qwant claims an audience of 5 million unique visitors per month in France, or 4% share of market). A recapitalization is thus planned with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and the German group Axel Springer.
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Appointed CEO at the start of the year and responsible for giving new impetus to the search engine, Jean-Claude Ghinozzi does not hide the fact that "the economic stake is important for Qwant". "We come from the computer. This partnership is an opportunity for us to enter the mobile market," he said. Above all, Qwant could massively expand its audience. "The agreement is made in such a way that we start with these three countries so that we can then, in a splash of oil, collaborate with Huawei in other territories", projects Jean-Claude Ghinozzi. "Ultimately, we could potentially reach 40 to 50 million users if we cover the European market."