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Search engines are key for online searches, but finding the best search engine for secure browsing is important. Although there are many search engines, including Google, Microsoft, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, Asl.com, and many others, we should check out, which gives us secure and fast browsing. Google tops its popularity with almost 90% customer share. Google has 4 billion users worldwide.
Famous search engines, including Google and Bing, do notary practices to collect personal data and online search activities. Your online search query becomes part of your online profile and search history. The more you search online, the more of your information gets leaked to the internet world.
Reasons to Use a Private Search Engine
All the famous search engines collect your data, IP address, user agent, cookies, and search terms. The search engines sell your data and search behavior to the companies for target advertisements and marketing. In the European Union, EU GDPR laws and regulations help to protect your data, and if you make a complaint, these companies are bound not to disclose your digital data.
You can’t stop those companies from collecting your data despite making complaints or applying security measures. But you have the option to delete your Google History.
Reasons to Avoid Popular Search Engines
Location Tracking
Popular search engines notice your IP address and locate your location. Tracking your area will give you local searches and advertisements. They can even leak your house or work location to third parties and force you to watch unwanted marketing advertisements.
Building User Profile
Search engines record your search history, online behavior, and communication with other users. Hackers may use the information collected online for their illicit activities.
Delivering Restricted Information
Famous search engines use tools to gather your behavior, interests, opinions, and search history. So, they are putting you in a “filter bubble” that can influence public views and spread false information.
Search engines can collect your data and create your profile despite a VPN. There are more chances of data leakage if you are using your Google account while Google searches. However, a good premium VPN service like ExtremeVPN can enhance your privacy.
Most Reliable Private Search Engines
You must focus on privacy and data safety when selecting a search engine. Data safety is very important in both individual and business online services. We have searched the top search engines, providing a safe and secure connection.
1. DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a well-known secure search engine. This helpful metasearch tool collects results from over 400 sources, such as Wikipedia, Yahoo, and Bing. The site increases the user experience by offering direct search to other sites like Yahoo, Amazon, and Wikipedia.
It has an ad-blocking feature, protection from hackers, and Bangs features. You can install it on Opera and Google Chrome. The search engine had been serving more than 80 million users in 2020. You can use it on mobile, desktop, app, and browser extensions.
Difference Between DuckDuck and VPN
You can get sound anonymity by using DuckDuck and VPN. Most search engines share your details like device model, IP address, and personal information with your log-in site. But DuckDuck considers it a breach of privacy and protects your online data. You can enhance security by using a premium VPN like ExtremeVPN.
2. Startpage
Startpage, formerly known as Ixquick, is a metasearch engine that prioritizes privacy and anonymity for users. It serves as a go-between for you and Google and guarantees search privacy. Startpage does not record your search history, monitor, or sell it. You can view products and prices irrespective of location or browsing history and protect yourself from targeted advertising. The GDPR protects users because Startpage has its headquarters in the Netherlands. Startpage uses contextual advertising to make money.
3. Searx
Searx is a free metasearch engine that prioritizes privacy. It doesn’t give the search engine data nor access to users’ IP addresses and search histories. In addition, Searx prevents tracking HTTPS headers, pixels, and malicious scripts. It also blocks cookies. Additionally, it stops search results from being filtered based on your search history, which makes it very useful if you want to reduce third-party tracking.
Searx does not track redirect links, unlike Google. It lets you view websites without visiting them using proxied and cached links. So, you can prevent yourself from inadvertently visiting harmful websites.
4. Gibiru
The purpose of Gibiru is to provide information beyond the control of Big Tech censorship and selective visibility. Thanks to policies that don’t keep search logs, IP addresses, or cookie tracking, Gibiru ensures not selling personal data to external parties. It’s a private, uncensored search engine; it does not allow retargeting.
When you leave the search results page, Gibiru won’t stop cookies. Yet, on Android and Apple gadgets, Gibiru’s Wormhole app fights cookie storage. It also acts like a VPN. You can use the engine by downloading an app or browser add-on. This company doesn’t trade personal info for profit. They earn money from commission-based packages. The subject search engine is well known for censor-free searching.
5. Swisscows
Swisscows is a Switzerland-based search engine. Its entire platform setup is in Switzerland, so the same EU privacy laws as Startpage regulate it. Swisscows uses a special Web crawler to produce search results.
This website is great for families since kids can surf safely. It’s proud of that! The platform provides specific search results and efficiently sends and receives emails. It supports most browsers and makes money from Bing-powered ads. It can also work as a VPN add-on for Firefox or Chrome.
6. MetaGer
MetaGer is a private search engine based in Germany and isn’t subject to US laws. That’s a plus for American users. Your data is safe with MetaGer because it doesn’t have to share information. They give users unfiltered content and are against censorship. Like SearX, it’s a meta-search engine. But MetaGer goes a step further. They take solid steps to ensure your data isn’t lost or taken. MetaGer erases your browsing history entirely.
7. Mojeek
Mojeek is a complimentary web search tool focused on valuing user privacy and prioritizing user interests. It uses unique crawlers to list more than 5 billion online sites. This tool produces impartial, independent findings across four sectors, one being the emotional sector. It’s accessible via a mobile app. Devoted to environmental preservation, the company adheres to a “do the right thing” ethos, functioning from one of the UK’s top-notch eco-friendly data centers.
8. Ecosia
Ecosia protects the world’s forests without compromising users’ privacy. This browser is eco-friendly, giving 80% of its profit to entities promoting forest replanting. The group running it views itself as a community-focused venture and is CO2-negative.
Ecosia works like a secure search engine that doesn’t keep or trade user information. It avoids third-party tracking tools and doesn’t compile user profiles from their search behavior. Ecosia earns income through subtle ads placed alongside search outcomes. Ecosia, with its 15 million users and a whopping 131 million trees planted, serves as a strong illustration of a functional technique.
9. SearchEncrypt
SearchEncrypt utilizes Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) local coding. If you lose your private key, your information and session key are safe. After browsing ends, this search tool wipes out the search terms you put in and fetches findings from a partner network. Regarding default privacy, SearchEncrypt outperforms DuckDuckGo, a more popular option.
Moreover, SearchEncrypt lets you find news, get maps, or peek at videos that honor your privacy. You can view these right from the search engine without annoying ads. Plus, there’s a Google Chrome extension available for it.
10. Qwant
Qwant offers a confidential search platform and promotes that every internet surfer should greatly appreciate privacy. It fiercely blocks any trace of tracking, promising users an extraordinary amount of privacy. When Qwant is in use, all your private documents, info, and web visit history receive complete protection.
Sure, you must share some fundamental details to make the most out of Qwant and get tailor-made results. Since it’s highly secure, you do not need to worry about these details going into the hands of data gatherers. Qwant does display advertisements similar to MetaGer. You might feel uneasy with these ads because they are linked with the Microsoft Bing ad network. However, you can easily block these ads if you use a VPN.
11. Disconnect Search
Disconnect Search is a private search engine built by ex-Google employees. This engine offers privacy to over 750 million users by mixing proxy results from top-ranking search engines. The major features of the search engine include browser extension, free premium subscription, and anonymous view.
This engine focuses on stopping harmful ads and content targeting by cybercriminals and data merchants. It highly values user safety. Including an ad blocker to simplify finding info by lessening the clutter on search pages. It uses secure and private methods. The search engine does not trace IP addresses, does not store cookies, does not provide location, doesn’t search history, and does not store finger data. It encrypts data, blocks ads, removes ad clutter and blocks surveillance programs.
Do Private Search Engines Exist?
You can determine the privacy of a search engine from its business model. Most non-private search engines generate income through ad targeting and providing user data to third parties.
The private search engines serve you more professionally and minimize your digital footprint. They do not trace your location data or even collect your data.
How Can You Select the Best Privacy-focused Search Engine?
If privacy is your priority, all the mentioned search engines work well. Your choice depends on what holds importance to you here. More privacy often means missing some perks, so decide your limit. Use one of these privacy-focused search engines when searching for anything online.
How Do Private Search Engines Create Revenues?
It all depends upon the mission and vision of the private search engines. A few search engines like SearX work as non-profit organizations and run on donations. Contextual advertising is a popular method where ads are displayed to users who use the same keywords as the ad. It’s like when you’re searching, the advertisement matches your search! Some also use affiliate links. They earn money when customers buy items found using their search engine.
How Can You Search Privately on Google?
You can search privately on Google through the following ways:
- Always remove your search history, and do not allow Google to store it.
- When you start browsing, sign out for all your accounts.
- You can get sound security by switching on Incognito mode.
- Surf the websites through a private browser.
- A premium VPN like ExtremeVPN can encrypt internet traffic and hide you from your ISP.
Is a Private or Incognito Model Helpful?
Private or incognito mode doesn’t solve everything. Websites, search engines, and internet providers can still see what you’re doing. What changes? Well, your browser doesn’t record the browsing history you made while using it. It may not store other items like cookies, but that varies from browser to browser. These changes only last until you close the browser.
