I will not use Google, mainly because it has now become a verb instead of a noun. I now use DuckDuckGo because it's fairly good on privacy, but I've used it a long time so I want to try something else. REQUEST: Please suggest one or more search engines that you like at least a little, & which: 1- Have a reasonably high level of relevancy 2- Have a reasonable degree of privacy 3- Have okay speed or better 4- Have no discernible agenda other than finding what I have asked to see P.S. I don't mind ads if they are not intrusively blatant -- everybody has to earn a living, right? Any & all suggestions will be given a shot by me (it's fun to do), possibly others as well.
I've tried them all, nothing even comes close to Google. I tried DuckDuckGo a few times and hated it, it'll never find what I want or I will keep looking through many pages whereas Google gets it right from the first or 2nd search query.
Since I will not use Google, please tell me the best 2 or 3 of those you tried. Also, if it has stuck in your mind, tell me the way in which each of them disappointed you.
if you want the best just use Google, nothing else comes close. No such thing as privacy on the internet.
I used to use Google. Excuse me if I want to try something else & please stop with the Google suggestions -- I already DO hear you.
https://www.startpage.com/en Formerly ixquick. Startpage: "Startpage delivers Google search results via our proprietary personal data protection technology." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startpage.com "The company also provides a stand-alone proxy service...which is incorporated into the Startpage search engine. This feature, known as Anonymous View since 2018, allows users the option to open all search results (except advertisements) via the proxy." "Startpage [is] protected by Dutch and European Union (EU) privacy laws." Read also the "Privacy, Please!", About Us, Privacy Policy stuff. If you like, click the burger, select your preferences, "copy the Settings URL below, then bookmark or set as homepage." Or not. I've had the same bookmark for well over a decade; use it several to dozens of times a day. I've never tried the Firefox extension; don't plan on it, either.
Bingo! Brave did poorly -- few hits & missed my favorite. However, it led me to mojeek & THAT looks worth giving a semi-extended trial. @Surt -- I gave startpage a brief trial. Too googly for me & -- for my 7 test searches -- did poorly. Example: when I searched for "angels" the first 10 hits all had to do with baseball's LA Angels. Other searches had similar irrelevance. Mojeek did the same, but did well on 4 of my other 6 test searches. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just for fun, suppose you wanted to read about "angels" -- the kind that supposedly have wings & halos and whose homes are in heaven. Give it a try on your favorite search engine & see how many relevant links you get among the first 10 or 15 hits.
This @bellgamin There is nothing I can recommend man. They all suck honestly. I'd rather be tracked and get my job done quickly than to sit there and do double the work to find something simple. I mean with Google, for example, I'm wanting to find the review of laptop XXXXX, I would type ASUS XXXXX (name of the model) followed by the word forum or reddit then I would get real people opinion posts rather the inflated/paid online reviews.
@bellgamin Just tested it, that is awesome actually for what it promises. Much better than Brave Search
I'd rather search search two mins longer than feed google more data (if I can avoid it). They may have the best results but for me for most searches DDG is enough. The only other search engine name that I remember atm is https://www.ecosia.org. Only remembered the name for the trees for privacy better read up on it yourself
One of the instances listed here. You can configure which search engines are used. More info here and here.
Those two just do not go along together, if you want relevant results, you need to give up privacy in order to get personalized searches. If I really want to find something, I try Bing while being logged into MSA. Brave, MetaGerm, Searx, Swisscows
I am comfortable with DDG,my default search engine in Thunderbird as well. It avoids the hassle of browsing various websites and finding engines added to the browser's search engine list without the user's consent. It happens in chrome-based browsers.
I guess that for english web content there exists some 3rd party search engines. Searching for content in a lauguage used by "only" 7 digit number of people is even harder using non-mainstream search engines. Personally if I were to search for some sensitive things I would use mainstream, non-privacy friendly search engine by browser in some kind of VM connected by VPN or Tor. Don't associate searches with your name, home address, SSN-like identifiers or other web accounts. Apart from that I think many people underutilize built-in site search engines. Yes, they won't correct misspelling or search for verbs in different tenses, so sometimes user needs to search many times, but they also may return more recent or otherwise non accessible results.
Duckduckgo sell data to microsoft https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...s-microsoft-trackers-due-to-search-agreement/ Starpage changed company and its now more advertising https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/di5rn3/startpage_is_now_owned_by_an_advertising_company/ Both theory most leading privacy engines lies us and betrayed our privacy...
I use Duck Duck Go--it reportedly is not affected by the Microsoft tracker thing, just the browser they say. The results are more complete than Brave's which I tried like a month ago. Brave has a ways to go before it even gets to the results generated by DDG. If I know I can do better search-wise, I will turn on Google just long enough to get what I'm looking for. Then it gets turned off. I tried this one long time ago but it was a bit slower and again, the results were obviously truncated. Anyone currently using this one? https://swisscows.com/?culture=en Yahoo is another one but for some reason, I have a trust issue there (tracking, ads, etc.).
Perhaps also worth reading about Startpage's relationship with Privacy One/System1, three Startpage articles: Building a more private internet experience with Privacy One Group Startpage CEO Robert Beens discusses the investment from Privacy One / System1 What is Startpage's relationship with Privacy One/System1 and what does this mean for my privacy protections?
DDG not only pass to MS, see a longer list here: https://www.kuketz-blog.de/duckduck...deverhalten-android-app-browser-check-teil12/ although its the android app you can assume that DDG is passing same on their servers and its extension(s). DDG has to earn money to survive! startpage ever was nosy on users data. someone using the fvd speeddial extension? guess what they do. it has reason that it was abandoned on AMO (Mozilla) and only resists in chrome store.
Startpage does NOT have the usual Google results. Just do an image search and check. It is certainly more consistent to Google (if taken as an example) DDG or Brave or MetaGer (results lower than DDG). And moreover with the war in Ukraine it does not take Yandex results into account. Searx.me uses compared to others insecure cipher suites, and I don't want to waste time to check which ones are. A recent review by Sven Taylor: https://restoreprivacy.com/private-search-engine/
