You don’t expect Google to be gathering information about you when you search for something. But that’s exactly what happens with each search and every query. This data gathering, among other things, results in the (I got one lava lamp and now I’m drowning in lava lamp advertisements) situation. However, there are search engines that do not collect information on you – and we’re looking at some of the best.
Let’s look at the best search engines that won’t make you feel spied on.
The top search engines that don’t track you
1- DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo isn’t as old as its three-word name suggests, having been founded in 2008. However, DuckDuckGo is a safe search engine to use and one of the most popular search engines in the world, with 100 million DAILY searches by 2021. Bing and its own crawler are among the sources it collects data from.
2- Surfshark Search
Surfshark Search is a search engine by Surfshark. It’s a search engine that was created with privacy in mind and doesn’t collect any data about you. Surfshark knows all about VPN for PC, ensuring that you keep your searches to yourself.
The only downside is that it comes with a Surfshark One membership. This also implies that Surfshark Search does not have to be paid for through third parties, and there are no advertisements or affiliate links during the search.
3- Startpage
The design of Startpage is a little more clunky than Google’s, which dates to 2004. The project began in the year 2000, and its name was inspired by the start page on Netscape. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, which means it has to follow tough Dutch and European privacy rules.
Startpage’s most significant selling feature is Google. Startpage differs from many alternative search engines in that it uses Google’s search engine while also anonymizing the query. This is why your search experience will be similar to Google’s, with sponsored content. But they’re more relevant (and not targeted) than standard advertising because that’s how Startpage funds its operations.
4- Ecosia
Carbon offsets don’t make much sense. Ecosia, on the other hand, isn’t in the business of pretending environmentalism by planting a tree now and then. It’s a private search engine that gives 80% of its profits to tree-planting initiatives.
Ecosia claims to have planted over 140 million trees as of this writing, which is remarkable for a search engine that has solely relied on sponsored links. According to the initiative, each search results in half a Euro cent. Ecosia also has a number of reports and data on its site to ensure greater transparency.
5- Qwant
In 2013, Qwant was launched in France. It differs from other search engines that do not track you by having their own indexing. This means it keeps and categorizes data in a manner that is unique to it rather than depending on Bing to do so. If you’re dissatisfied with the Bing results, Qwant will make things better.
Tripadvisor, eBay, and other companies have sponsored Quant’s development. It also provides Maps (based on the OpenStreetMap project) and Junior, a search engine geared toward kids ages 6-12.