In a statement, the company said that it started to take search back to its users. "Having worked on search and search ads for over a decade, we sincerely believed that there was space for a model of search that put user and not advertiser interests first — a private, ads-free experience," the statement said.

"But throughout this journey, we've discovered that it is one thing to build a search engine and an entirely different thing to convince regular users of the need to switch to a better choice. From the unnecessary friction required to change default search settings, to the challenges in helping people understand the difference between a search engine and a browser, acquiring users has been really hard. Contrary to popular belief, convincing users to pay for a better experience was actually a less difficult problem compared to getting them to try a new search engine in the first place," the statement said.

As part of the shutdown, the company will delete all user data.

"We are truly grateful to our community, and we are truly sorry that we aren't able to continue to provide the search engine that you want and deserve," the statement said.