Browzar promises private surfing

Browzar does not store cookies or website history

The new Browzar internet browser is promising users a way to surf the internet while disclosing only a limited amount of personal information.

In an attempt to protect the privacy of its users the application does not store cookies or a history of previously visited websites, nor does it maintain a cache or offer to auto-complete online forms.

These features can prevent the disclosure of sensitive information on shared computers and limit the risk of identity theft.

But they would not prevent cases such as the recent AOL publication of search queries from 650,000 users which the provider had collected on its servers.

Browzar is currently in beta and available for Windows systems only. The free download shares several components with Internet Explorer.

It does not require any installation and removes all temporary files after it is terminated. Users can store the downloadable file on their computer or fetch a fresh copy every time they need to browse the internet.

Browzar is a project by Freeserve founder Ajaz Ahmed, who pioneered the free internet provider business in the UK. The venture was sold to sold to Wanadoo in 2004 for £1.65bn ($2.37bn).

"We divulge masses of information about our habits, hobbies and financial dealings while online, often unknowingly, and there are times when all of us would rather this was kept private," said Ahmed.

"Using Browzar, anyone can surf the web privately in the knowledge that no-one will stumble across the sites they have visited when using the same computer."

Internet browsers are configured by default to store cookies, build a cache and store the URLs of recently visited websites. Users are prompted before auto-complete features are activates.

The features are designed to make for faster and more convenient web surfing. They also enable websites to recognise users when they return without requiring them to sign-in first.

Although users can manually delete the history and other items containing sensitive information, most users fail to do so due to time constraints or a lack of expertise, Ahmed argued.