TL;DR - which privacy-focused search engine do people recommend, preferably one that can also easily be used as a default option in Safari?
I ditched Google in about 2016ish I would guess, and since then have used DDG as my default search engine.
As someone entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, it’s always seemed like a sound choice, as it’s one of the search engines built in to Safari on both iOS and macOS.
After spending a bit more time recently playing around with and updating my Docker containers, I started hosting a Whoogle container, which seemed to work pretty well, but I don’t see many out there talking about it, so not sure how good it actually is. I then tried a SearXNG container, but either had it misconfigured or just wasn’t getting many search results back.
At the moment I’m trying out Startpage, but I know there are potential privacy concerns since they were part-bought in 2019 by a US ad-tech company.
I’m also playing around with different browsers at the moment, flicking between Safari, Firefox and Brave. At which point I stumbled across Brave Search, which seems pretty promising.
So, which search engines do you all recommend?
UPDATE: Probably should’ve done a poll! But latest (if I’ve captured everything correctly) is:
Self-hosted under a VPN would be the way to go if you want to be 100% sure.
The problem with public instances is that you can’t really know what the owner does with the data. There are safe ones, and malicious ones. I’d just look for one that has a good reputation.
Yeah I have a self-hosted one but I’m struggling to get results. I posted under another comment on this thread, was just gonna ask for some support troubleshooting.
Completely agree though, self hosting over public instances all day long.
Just using duckduckgo. I’m not happy with my search results as they heavily prioritize clickbait CEO blogs instead of showing official documentation / sources.
I’ve had a pretty similar journey to yours and I’m currently using Qwant, although the only reason I’m using them is because they’re based in Europe and haven’t had any scandals that I could find. If you’re really concerned about privacy I’ve heard good things about Kagi.
I replied to another comment on here saying that I’d tried this once before, via a Docker container, but just wasn’t getting any results back (kept getting timeouts from all the search engines).
I’ve just revisited it, and still get the timeouts. Reckon you’re able to help me troubleshoot it?
I use Firefox as main browser, but I discovered for my use case google provides the best results without needing to setup every workstation e.g. 2 home PCs, 1 mobile, 2 for work.
And that I need to use all main 3 browsers.
Also google provide good service with functions to quickly make currency conversions, simple math ekvations etc which even Bing is far behind.
“AI” services will change this but for now it’s too slow.
But in general for me, I have given up that fact to try stay private many years back, it’s all a dream just like living off grid, 99% of would not survive 4 days.
But the information can be scrambled, ie shift user accounts, services, software etc. It would also provide better competition due to the userbase is moving around… But most of us are too lazy or afraid to lose history, backups, photos etc. Just see how many that can’t just delete an old reddit account due to the time spent to reach an level you aren’t ready to leave. To lead to famous qoute I follow online
“Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner”
Its all about supporting the services you like and are trying to be an counterweight to the other common commercial services…
Meaning we need to found/pay for good services, privacy is a luxary looking on the whole user base.
Companies, I based on an idea, but exist to make someone money and if it’s tracks it will make many people money and in the end majority will lead the company to earn money and leave the base idea behind.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !technology@lemmy.world
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
For search engine, I go with SearXNG, and for web browser, Mull. Or hardened Firefox, on PC.
Do you use a self-hosted SearXNG, or one of the other hosted instances?
Self-hosted under a VPN would be the way to go if you want to be 100% sure.
The problem with public instances is that you can’t really know what the owner does with the data. There are safe ones, and malicious ones. I’d just look for one that has a good reputation.
Yeah I have a self-hosted one but I’m struggling to get results. I posted under another comment on this thread, was just gonna ask for some support troubleshooting.
Completely agree though, self hosting over public instances all day long.
Just using duckduckgo. I’m not happy with my search results as they heavily prioritize clickbait CEO blogs instead of showing official documentation / sources.
I’ve had a pretty similar journey to yours and I’m currently using Qwant, although the only reason I’m using them is because they’re based in Europe and haven’t had any scandals that I could find. If you’re really concerned about privacy I’ve heard good things about Kagi.
They have a partnership with Microsoft. Not saying it’s a scandal but that was my reason to stop using it
Does anyone have experience/thoughts about Mojeek?
I just recently learned about it and haven’t really explored it, but curious.
Thanks!
I’m using an Ad-, Tracking- etc blocker in all my devices, so I’m not too worried about using Google or Bing when I do.
But I’m hosting my own instance of SearchXNG and that’s often simply the most powerful and flexible search engine.
Also self-host SearchXNG. Its definitely the way to go. I like you can choose which search engines to pull from
I replied to another comment on here saying that I’d tried this once before, via a Docker container, but just wasn’t getting any results back (kept getting timeouts from all the search engines).
I’ve just revisited it, and still get the timeouts. Reckon you’re able to help me troubleshoot it?
Below are the logs from Portainer:
The above is a simple search for “best privacy focused search engines 2023”, followed by the same search again but using the ddg! bang in front of it.
I can post my docker-compose if it helps?
First thing that comes to mind is are you running it on Host Network? That’s a requirement
I use Firefox as main browser, but I discovered for my use case google provides the best results without needing to setup every workstation e.g. 2 home PCs, 1 mobile, 2 for work. And that I need to use all main 3 browsers. Also google provide good service with functions to quickly make currency conversions, simple math ekvations etc which even Bing is far behind.
“AI” services will change this but for now it’s too slow.
But in general for me, I have given up that fact to try stay private many years back, it’s all a dream just like living off grid, 99% of would not survive 4 days.
But the information can be scrambled, ie shift user accounts, services, software etc. It would also provide better competition due to the userbase is moving around… But most of us are too lazy or afraid to lose history, backups, photos etc. Just see how many that can’t just delete an old reddit account due to the time spent to reach an level you aren’t ready to leave. To lead to famous qoute I follow online
“Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner”
Its all about supporting the services you like and are trying to be an counterweight to the other common commercial services… Meaning we need to found/pay for good services, privacy is a luxary looking on the whole user base.
Companies, I based on an idea, but exist to make someone money and if it’s tracks it will make many people money and in the end majority will lead the company to earn money and leave the base idea behind.
Been using Qwant for a few years. Good enough for 90% of searches imo. For whatever’s left, I’ll use DDG, Google in incognito, or Bing.
https://lemmy.world/post/311854
Thanks, I’ll take a look. I didn’t know about that post.
Brave!
deleted by creator
I like the fact that brave search has an AI, that’s why I use it. I might self-host a foss search engine though
Mullvad Leta
https://leta.mullvad.net/faq