11 Privacy-Focused, Alternative Search Engines to Google

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Shows however galore antithetic websites are linking to this portion of content. As a wide rule, the much websites nexus to you, the higher you fertile successful Google.

Shows estimated monthly hunt postulation to this nonfiction according to Ahrefs data. The existent hunt postulation (as reported successful Google Analytics) is usually 3-5 times bigger.

The fig of times this nonfiction was shared connected Twitter.

Google alternatives are everywhere, but are they any good?

To reply this question, I poked astir a fewer fashionable alternate hunt engines for a time oregon 2 and utilized them for my daily work.

My main judging criterion was however each hunt motor fared successful its committedness to protecting idiosyncratic information and privacy. Here are the 11 that got my approval:

  1. Startpage
  2. DuckDuckGo
  3. Brave Search
  4. Swisscows
  5. Search Encrypt
  6. OneSearch
  7. MetaGer
  8. Mojeek
  9. Qwant
  10. Ecosia
  11. You.com

Startpage's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Startpage is efficaciously Google without the tracking. And for this reason, it takes our top spot.

According to the Netherlands-based hunt engine, your queries are anonymized before hunt results are pulled from Google. This means each identifying accusation is blanketed, including your IP address. No tracking cookies are utilized either.

Startpage besides complies with GDPR, a European Union regularisation that protects users’ data. Still, you should cognize the state is portion of the Nine Eyes quality alliance, which shares wide surveillance information with 8 countries.

Feature spotlight

"Anonymized View" connection   successful  hunt  queries

The Anonymous View feature lets you sojourn websites from your hunt results anonymously for some desktop and mobile. It fundamentally behaves similar a (free) VPN.

DuckDuckGo's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

DuckDuckGo is easy the astir well-known backstage hunt motor around—and the antithesis to Google erstwhile it comes to favoring idiosyncratic privacy. (Though, it does monetize from idiosyncratic searches.)

Your hunt past is saved successful a non-identifiable manner, meaning tracking cookies and idiosyncratic identifiers, specified arsenic IP addresses, are not stored.

This is simply a immense positive for america contempt the information that results pulled from implicit 400 sources, including its ain crawler (DuckDuckBot), crowdsourced sites similar Wikipedia and partners similar Bing and Yahoo.

To trial its efficacy, I plugged the aforesaid keywords into Google and DuckDuckGo—from “covid-19 updates” to “kaws marina bay.” The results were often similar. I recovered this to beryllium existent of breaking quality stories too.

A imaginable downside is that DuckDuckGo is based successful the U.S. and, by extension, portion of the Five Eyes quality alliance—which often collects wide surveillance information from net companies.

Feature spotlight

Gif showing Bangs feature

DuckDuckGo’s “Bangs” diagnostic takes you straight to hunt results connected different sites. For example, typing “!w” and a keyword (e.g., !w singapore) takes you straight to Wikipedia’s leafage for Singapore.

Brave's homepage. Search word  "Ahrefs" successful  substance   field

I similar Brave Search for its absorption connected unbiased results, which it pulls from its ain index. The institution made the bold determination of relinquishing its reliance connected Google SERPs in October 2021.

Upon searching for some evergreen contented and time-sensitive news, I recovered the results to beryllium akin capable to Google’s—so agelong arsenic you let for anonymous section results.

For much privacy, you tin take to crook this toggle disconnected and behaviour manual searches, e.g., “things to bash successful [location].”

Toggle fastener  for "Anonymous section  results"

Just similar the different hunt engines here, determination is nary idiosyncratic profiling and nary personalized oregon targeted ads.

The hunt motor is portion of Brave Software, whose co-founders see Brendan Eich (creator of JavaScript and co-founder of browser Mozilla Firefox) and Brian Bondy (former elder level technologist astatine Mozilla).

Feature spotlight

Search results for "marketing." Knowledge sheet  connected  the right

Brave has cognition panels for speedy answers to your burning questions, conscionable similar Google.

Swisscows' homepage. Search word  "Ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Swisscows is a Switzerland-based hunt motor that has its ain scale for German-language queries. For each different languages, results are pulled from Bing. But this isn’t an issue, fixed that each hunt queries are stripped of idiosyncratic identifiers.

The hunt motor besides omits the usage of tracking cookies and geo-targeting.

While Swisscows’ hunt results surely aren’t connected par with Google’s, I similar however household affable the hunt motor is: It automatically filters retired convulsive and pornographic hunt results by mode of an enforced feature.

As acold arsenic privateness goes, Switzerland is not portion of an quality alliance, but it does person a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the U.S.

Feature spotlight

Search results for "digital marketing." Semantic representation  connected  the right

Swisscows has “semantic maps” to assistance you refine your searches.

Search Encrypt's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Search Encrypt sources for its results from its contented partners and hunt engines (including Google, Bing, and Yahoo), albeit successful a privacy-safe manner.

Like the different hunt engines connected this list, Search Encrypt anonymizes hunt queries, doesn’t clasp server logs oregon IP addresses, and doesn’t store tracking cookies.

When it comes to searches, your presumption are encrypted locally earlier being sent to the servers. After 30 minutes of inactivity, your browsing past volition beryllium erased.

However, Search Encrypt does store your hunt information (albeit without immoderate of your idiosyncratic identifiers) to amended its merchandise performance.

I recovered its hunt results comparable to Ecosia’s. So portion it’s not rather up determination with DuckDuckGo and Startpage, Search Encrypt is reliable capable to beryllium utilized for each kinds of queries—whether navigational, transactional, oregon informational.

Feature spotlight

Options to retry hunt  connected  Yahoo, Bing, and Google

If you’re dissatisfied with the results oregon privation a speedy comparison, you tin easy bash truthful utilizing the “retry this search” relation located astatine the apical of the page.

OneSearch's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Owned by Yahoo’s genitor company, Verizon Media, OneSearch claims to beryllium a privacy-oriented hunt engine—with hunt results pulled from Bing.

No cookies are stored, and determination is nary sharing of identifiable idiosyncratic information with advertisers. Having besides perused its privacy policy, I recovered the hunt motor to beryllium beauteous safe.

On the downside, OneSearch profiles you based connected query search terms and your imprecise location at the clip of your search. So you whitethorn get contextual ads—or educated guesses astir your interests based connected your hunt keywords. There is nary idiosyncratic profiling oregon retargeting, though.

What I similar are the small extras: the SafeSearch function, the quality to acceptable a much circumstantial location, and the “Advanced Privacy Mode” enactment (more below).

Feature spotlight

Toggle fastener  to crook   Advance Privacy Mode connected  oregon  off. Short write-up astir  privateness  beneath

Enable “Advanced Privacy Mode” to encrypt hunt presumption and hunt URLs, which volition disguise your hunt contented from 3rd parties.

MetaGer's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

MetaGer is simply a Germany-based, open-source metasearch engine. Like Ecosia, its servers tally connected renewable energy.

Results are pulled from Scopia, Bing, OneNewspage, and OneNewspage (Video), truthful they’re beauteous timely. You tin besides deselect the hunt engines utilized oregon make a blacklist of websites successful the settings.

I admit how transparent MetaGer is successful its handling of idiosyncratic information, from queries to maps. Still, it’s not without caveats: The hunt motor stores your afloat IP code for 96 hours, and your sanction and email code are kept if you capable retired its interaction form.

However, it does usage an anonymizing proxy that ensures you clasp afloat power implicit your data.

Feature spotlight

Example of "Did you know" container

The “Did you know”’ container (to the close of hunt results) offers tidbits astir MetaGer and however to refine your searches. You tin besides click connected the substance to view the afloat database of tips.

Mojeek's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Mojeek is a crawler-based hunt motor with its ain hunt scale of over 4 cardinal pages. This makes it fantabulous for unbiased information. But it besides means determination whitethorn beryllium constricted results, arsenic it doesn’t propulsion results from different hunt engines.

Still, I similar the hunt engine for its straightforward no-tracking policy. Your idiosyncratic information volition besides never beryllium sold oregon distributed, which is simply a immense positive successful our books. If you’ve filled its interaction form, you tin petition to person the accusation deleted too, arsenic per GDPR.

All that said, Mojeek is based successful the U.K., which is portion of the Five Eyes quality alliance—just similar DuckDuckGo.

Feature spotlight

Emoticons beneath  substance   tract

The emotion-based hunt classification diagnostic allows you to participate a keyword and hunt by emotion.

Qwant's homepage. Search word  "ahrefs" successful  substance   field

Qwant is simply a Paris-based hunt motor whose hunt results are powered by Bing and its ain web crawler. It’s afloat accessible successful implicit 30 countries but, alas, not Singapore.

At past check, my colleague, SQ, recovered the accuracy of hunt results to beryllium decent enough. But don’t expect location-specific answers, arsenic Qwant doesn’t way your geolocation.

It besides doesn’t cod information oregon usage tracking cookies. But it keeps your IP code for fraud detection purposes. If you similar implicit anonymity, Qwant suggests using a VPN oregon the TOR relay service.

Like Startpage, Qwant offers GDPR protection. France is, however, portion of the Nine Eyes quality alliance.

Feature spotlight

Example of hunt  shortcut. Typing successful  a circumstantial  query leads to Amazon's page

There are “search shortcuts” that connection you speedy entree to circumstantial websites. For instance, utilizing the word “&a books” yields results from Amazon’s books category.

View the database of shortcuts here.

Ecosia's logo. Next to it is simply a substance   tract  to participate  hunt  queries

Did you cognize each enactment you instrumentality connected your integer instrumentality emits c dioxide? And Google plays a large portion successful it: It’s accountable for ~40% of the internet’s c footprint.

To counteract this, backstage hunt motor Ecosia donates 80% of its profits to tree-planting projects, oregon astir 1 histrion for each 45 searches made. It has also built a star plant so that its servers tin tally connected clean power.

On the whole, I recovered its hunt results to beryllium adjacent capable to Google’s.

Ecosia isn’t afloat private. It collects hunt information and personally identifiable information, some of which are lone anonymized aft 7 days. But we reckon utilizing the hunt motor is simply a worthy trade-off, arsenic it seeks to tackle clime change.

Feature spotlight

Search results page. On apical  right-hand corner, a tiny  scoreboard with a histrion   adjacent  to it

Your fig of searches is shown connected a scoreboard (unless you take to wide your browser cookies), allowing you to support way of your interaction connected the environment.

You.com's logo. Next to it is simply a substance   tract  containing hunt  word  "ahrefs"

Rounding disconnected the database is You.com. The beta-stage hunt motor offers a highly customizable experience: Your hunt results look connected 1 webpage but are divided into respective sections that you tin rearrange according to your preferences.

"Web results," "Images," and "Videos" sections connected  hunt  results page

To further customize your results, motion up for an relationship to adhd and prevention apps to your dashboard (find retired much nether Feature Spotlight below). These apps are fundamentally your preferred sources of accusation and volition amusement up on with your hunt results.

Saved app "Reddit" connected  hunt  results page

While it’s a neat feature, it besides means your first-party cookies volition beryllium stored for personalization purposes. Alternatively, you’re capable to destruct first-party cookie-tracking wholly by browsing privately oregon via VPN.

I recovered the hunt results for assorted keywords (such arsenic “ahrefs” and “covid-19 singapore regular cases”) to beryllium comparable to Google’s. And portion immoderate results are drawn from Microsoft, You.com maintains that idiosyncratic information is kept harmless and not sold to advertisers. The institution is c neutral too.

Feature spotlight

Section to adhd  apps

Personalize your hunt results by adding apps to your feed—there are scores of categories to take from. You tin adjacent adhd developer apps, specified arsenic Github, to your dashboard.

Final thoughts

While Google dominates the planetary hunt motor market, it’s had its just stock of criticism: antitrust issues, creating a filter bubble, violating idiosyncratic privacy, and more.

For users, alternate hunt engines whitethorn beryllium 1 workaround. But don’t instrumentality our connection for it; effort retired the ones connected this database to determine what works champion for you.

Got questions oregon comments? Ping me on Twitter.