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Ecosia

Berlin search engine that funds climate action from search ads. Results come from Bing, Google, and the EUSP index, not a fully independent global index.

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Ecosia is a German web search service run by Ecosia GmbH in Berlin. It exists to turn search advertising into climate work. The company says it uses 100% of profits for the planet, mainly tree planting and related projects, and it publishes monthly financial reports so anyone can see income and spend.

It is not a fully independent global web index. Ecosia's help pages state that results and ads come from Microsoft Bing, Google, and European Search Perspective (EUSP), a joint venture with French search company Qwant. Which stack answers a query depends on location, device, and settings. Bing is available to all users. Google results are limited to specific regions and browsers. EUSP is still rolling out.

The practical differentiator for a tech lead is a steward-owned German operator plus a free workplace default-search program, paired with an honest (and still partial) move toward a European index. The same design is the main diligence issue: search terms and IP addresses are shared with US search partners so results and ads can be delivered.

EU-operatedSteward-ownedB CorpProfits to climateBing, Google, EUSP

Shortlist as a free default-search switch when a German steward-owned operator and climate spend matter more than index independence. Skip when policy forbids sending queries and IP addresses to Microsoft or Google. Stay on Bing or Google directly if you only need coverage. Consider Qwant when the priority is a European privacy-first search brand rather than workplace climate packaging.

Key capabilities

Organic results and ads are supplied by Microsoft Bing, Google, and European Search Perspective. The live provider can change by location, device, cookies, and tests. Users can inspect the provider on a result and, where offered, pick a preferred provider in settings. Bing is available to all users. Google is limited to specific regions and browsers. EUSP is a partial European index, not a worldwide replacement.

Ecosia for Companies is a no-charge program to set Ecosia as the organisation default in existing Chrome or Edge fleets. The vendor says no extension is required. Organisations with 1,000 or more employees can get a monthly tree report. This is a policy change, not a private corporate search appliance.

Income comes from search ads (Microsoft Advertising and Google AdSense for Search) and is not a user subscription. Ecosia says it uses 100% of profits for climate action and publishes monthly financial reports. It is a steward-owned social business, not a charity and not a carbon-offset product.

Default ads are described as non-personalised, with location inferred from IP. Personalised Bing results and ads, Microsoft Clarity session capture, and extra partner cookies are consent-gated. Ecosia says it anonymises IP addresses after at most 7 days and does not build a cross-platform advertising profile. Query and IP sharing with the active search partner still happens on every search.

AI Chat is powered primarily by Mistral AI in France under a stated zero data retention policy. OpenAI is documented as a fallback and retains input and output for 30 days. Users can turn off AI overviews and AI Chat via an AI-free search setting. Chat history and file uploads are optional account features with separate retention rules.

In één oogopslag

HQ / entity
Berlin, Germany. Ecosia GmbH (HRB 170873, Charlottenburg)
Founded
December 2009 (vendor help centre)
Ownership
Steward-owned since 2018. No dividend extraction. Not for sale at a profit.
Commercial model
Free search. Income from labelled search ads (Microsoft Advertising, Google AdSense).
Result sources
Microsoft Bing, Google, and EUSP (partial European index)
Workplace
Free default-search program. Tree report from 1,000 employees.
Independent audit
No public ISO 27001, SOC 2, or security audit found
B Corp
Certified since April 2014 (B Lab directory)

Best fit when

  • Sustainability or ESG teams that want a free default-search change and a monthly tree report for large fleets
  • German or EU organisations that want a local legal entity in front of search, and accept Bing or Google as the backend
  • Staff populations that will actually switch default search if the product is familiar and ad-funded rather than a new paid tool
  • Buyers who want monthly public financial reports and a steward-owned lock on dividends and sale
  • Teams willing to use AI Chat on Mistral, or to turn AI features off entirely

Poor fit when

  • Security policies that forbid sending search terms and IP addresses to Microsoft or Google
  • Procurement that requires a published B2B DPA, ISO 27001, or SOC 2 before approval
  • Need for a complete independent European web index on every query today
  • Need for carbon offsets or a guaranteed per-search tree count as a compliance instrument
  • Need for self-hosted or air-gapped search

Consider instead when

  • When: You cannot send queries or IP addresses to US search companies

    Consider: Do not treat current Ecosia Bing/Google results as EU-only. Confirm any EUSP-only path with the vendor, or keep search inside an approved internal tool.

    Ecosia privacy policy states IP and search terms are shared with Bing or Google automatically.

  • When: You only need result coverage and ads, not climate spend or a German front end

    Consider: Microsoft Bing or Google Search

    Ecosia often syndicates those same indexes.

  • When: You want a European privacy-first search brand more than workplace climate packaging

    Consider: Qwant (EUSP joint-venture partner; not yet in this catalog)

    Both still depend on non-European indexes for some traffic.

Jurisdictie & eigendom

Juridische entiteit
Ecosia GmbH, Gerichtstrasse 23 (courtyard 4), 13347 Berlin, Germany
VS-moeder / zeggenschap
Geen bekende VS-moeder
CLOUD Act-blootstelling (indicatief)
Medium
Hosting / residentie
German controller. Search routed to nearest servers worldwide (not EU-only). Queries and IPs go to Microsoft Bing and/or Google. SSL via Cloudflare and Amazon. Accounts on Okta/Auth0 (US). Other US processors: Braze, Help Scout, HubSpot, OpenAI fallback. EU-named: Didomi (FR), Mistral (FR), Langfuse (DE) on AWS Ireland. EUSP hosted in Europe (vendor).

No known US parent. Steward-owned. CLOUD Act exposure is medium because the production search path and several SaaS subprocessors are US-group companies, including Bing/Google on ordinary queries. Indicative only, not legal advice.

  • Independent security / no-logs auditNot found
  • ISO 27001Not found
  • SOC 2 / SOC 3Not found
  • GDPR / EU data protectionVendor claimed
  • +4

Considerations & known limitations

  • HighQuery and IP sharing with Microsoft and Google

    The privacy policy states IP address and search terms are automatically shared with Bing or Google to return results and ads. A German front end does not keep those queries inside Ecosia.

  • MediumPartial, not complete, European index

    EUSP/Staan is a real joint venture with Qwant and is rolling out, but help and blog pages disagree on whether Germany is already live. Most users should assume Bing or Google still answer a large share of queries.

  • MediumUS-group cloud and SaaS on the data path

    Named processors include Cloudflare, Amazon (SSL), Okta/Auth0, Braze, Help Scout, HubSpot, and OpenAI fallback. Langfuse quality data is on AWS in Ireland. CLOUD Act exposure is therefore medium, not low.

  • MediumNo public ISO, SOC 2, DPA, or security audit

    Workplace rollout is easy, but the assurance pack expected by many security teams is not on the public site. Treat B Corp as a mission/governance signal, not a security audit.

  • LowServers are not EU-only

    Ecosia says requests generally go to the nearest server worldwide. A user in Germany may stay in Germany. A user elsewhere may not.

Open questions for due diligence

  • Will Ecosia sign a B2B DPA that names Microsoft, Google, Cloudflare, and other processors?
  • What share of production queries in France and Germany is served by EUSP versus Bing or Google today? Official help and blog currently disagree on Germany availability.
  • Which regions host the primary search and account application servers, beyond 'nearest server' routing?
  • Is an independent security audit or ISO 27001 program planned?
  • For AI Chat, what is the current fallback rate to OpenAI and can it be contractually disabled?
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Veelgestelde Vragen

Not necessarily, but many still do. Official help says results come from Microsoft Bing, Google, and EUSP. Bing is available to all users. Google is limited to specific regions and browsers and may be the default for eligible users. EUSP is a joint Ecosia/Qwant index. A July 2026 company blog says EUSP results are live in Germany after a France launch. The help article last updated 12 August 2026 still says EUSP is currently only available in France. You can see the provider for a given result from the page UI. IP address and search terms are automatically shared with whichever search partner answers the query.

No. The controller is Ecosia GmbH in Berlin, but the privacy policy is explicit that search terms and IP addresses go to Microsoft Bing or Google (both US companies, with SCC and Data Privacy Framework language). Servers are located around the world. Cloudflare and Amazon are used for SSL. Additional US processors include Okta/Auth0, Braze, Help Scout, HubSpot, and OpenAI as an AI fallback. EUSP is hosted in Europe according to Ecosia, but it does not yet cover all queries.

No public B2B data processing agreement, ISO 27001 certificate, or SOC 2 report was found on official pages during this research. The privacy policy names an external DPO via privacy@ecosia.org and describes SCC/DPF for US transfers. Workplace buyers should ask for a signed DPA that lists Bing, Google, Cloudflare, and other processors before treating Ecosia as an approved processor.

Like other general web search engines, Ecosia is funded when people click labelled ads next to results. Ads are supplied by Microsoft Advertising and Google AdSense for Search. The company says it does not pay dividends and uses 100% of profits for climate action. Current figures belong on the monthly financial reports, not in a procurement summary.

Prompts go to Mistral AI in Paris. Ecosia says Mistral is used with a zero data retention policy. If Mistral is unavailable, OpenAI may be used as a fallback and stores input and output for 30 days. Optional chat history is stored with Cloudflare as a subprocessor and can be turned off. Sampled anonymised conversations may go to Langfuse on AWS in Ireland for quality review unless you opt out.