To speak of search engines means to speak of Google search. If your market share in almost all regions of the world exceeds 70%, your influence is even greater than indicated in the data. Not even Microsoft’s strategy to connect to Yahoo! It has delivered compelling results against Google's dominance.
Yahoo! It ended in disaster after being one of the great pioneers of the Internet in the 1990s, while Bing maintains an acceptable share without being able to overshadow Google. And this despite Microsoft's "tricks" of installing the engine (forcibly) in the same Chrome for Office 365 users or forcing Windows 10 users to use it in the general system search tool. Google also uses its "techniques". For example, the manufacturer who wants Android or Chrome OS certificates for marketing new devices should use the search by default.
And it is the case that these types of applications are indispensable and widely used in the network of today's networks, although the user often does not notice them in a variety of applications Internet services and access to the billionaire's online advertising cake. This is how it is understood that the entire base of Google's business was built on its engine and allowed it to become the giant we know.
The problem is that The online advertising industry has crossed the red line and it has become one of the biggest violations of users' privacy rights as personal data is tracked without proper control. Users are fed up with these practices and the web has become an endless cat-and-mouse game between data protection officers and a wide range of advertisers. Choosing the search engine is the key to getting started.
Alternative search engines
Although the situation cannot be described as a monopoly, several governments (particularly Europeans) are investigating the updating of regulations that could lead smaller companies to compete with technology giants after alleging anti-competitive practices and abuse of dominance.
This, along with mass surveillance scandals, data breaches, and obscure practices, has allowed alternative engines to emerge that promise more privacy and a return of results that are less impacted by commercial and advertising reasons than what Google Search and Microsoft Bing offer.
Most of the alternatives are unknown to the public, but do exist, do exist. The global search frequency is still minimal and the results for some types may not be as accurate as the large ones, but the focus is on one more privacy and neutrality In times when the evaluation of these aspects increases, the use has increased considerably. We leave the five most interesting alternative (and private) search engines to you.
DuckDuckGo
The most interesting of the alternative search engines is an open source development that Privacy obligation as the main feature and indeed it is the standard engine in the TOR browser. The increase in usage has been enormous in recent quarters.
This search engine does not sell personal informationbecause it doesn't save it at all. DuckDuckGo displays advertisements (sponsored links) that refer to the term the user has just entered in the search bar, but without tracking activity or creating a user profile.
DuckDuckGo uses search results from Yahoo! This means that those who are used to the efficiency of search or google may find the results less accurate. The results are simplified with specific metadata so that the country of origin can be selected to achieve more consistent results with the results sought. DuckDuckGo recently launched the Tracker Radar service to improve privacy. It is your own tracker data that you use with your search software so everyone, users, or developers can protect themselves online.
Home page
A development from the Netherlands for those who are looking for a search engine that is more like Google but has a different operation. You actually use your results and then use them for your own service without collecting your information.
The homepage guarantees data protection with "Anonymous view", which works next to every search result. The engine routes traffic through a proxy server so your identity is never shared with websites. This makes Startpage one of the best anonymous search engines available.
This engine is also careful with search recommendations. Typically, a search engine recommends search terms as you type based on someone else's search results. However, this requires that the search engine collect personal information that Startpage does not support.
MetaGer
A data protection-based search engine based in Germany. Like startpage, Also uses proxy server technology to hide your location when you visit a website.
When searching for a term, an additional option called "Open anonymously" is displayed under each result. When you click on it, MetaGer configures a proxy server and routes the desired website through it. In this way, the visit is anonymous.
Unfortunately, MetaGer is fairly simple for settings and options, and uses Scopia and Bing for its search results. However works as a non-profit organization supported by donations. This is good news for anyone who doesn't trust a company that aims to generate revenue and profit.
Qwant
A French development (with servers in Europe and according to European standards) that has become the second most popular alternative search engine it is certainly the most complete. It has music search services, maps and accessories by searching Trend topics and a powerful and well-organized news area that competes for quality with Google’s offering.
However, for some of these features you need to determine your location or your personal information. This means that it is not an ideal choice for people who want maximum privacy, although this should be considered does not save search histories.
If you don't mind a little more tracking for a few more features, Qwant fills a niche without selling your data. An intermediate point between more modest engines in terms of advantages, but more private, and the giants of the sector.
Mojeek
A pattern of previous search engines is that they entrust their results to external developments. If this is a problem for you and you prefer a development that generates its own results, this is one of them.
It is a UK-based search engine that uses its own databases to ensure privacy is respected at all times. The managers speak of "independent and impartial" search results.
The problem with not being as gigantic as Google or Bing is that the results may not be as accurate. However, if you are looking for something completely independent and private, this is a solution to the value.
Other alternative search engines:
– – Ecosia It is a somewhat special search engine because it not only offers more data protection than Google, but also has the primary goal of helping to plant trees. You only have to do one thing: Use the search engine.
– – Swiss cows is a Swiss-based search engine that is part of the Hulbee AG project. It relies on Bing for its results, and when a search is performed, it displays a tag cloud on the right, which can be useful for knowing the related terms.
– – searX It is defined as a "meta search engine". The results of various search engines are collected when the user carries out a query. However, a profile can be created without saving data. Being open source strengthens the trust that can be placed in this search engine, which can also be changed and re-implemented on another server.
– – Peekier It is a search engine that implements its own algorithm and has the peculiarity of previewing every website displayed in the search results. This, how could it be otherwise, has a price, and that means Peekier is not the quickest to find.
How do I change the search engine?
All browsers contain a standard search engine, but the alternatives can be used. For example, Chrome obviously uses Google search, but can be easily changed as follows:
- Access the Chrome settings.
- Click on "Search Engine" in the block on the left and you will see the search engine installed by default and the basic list with Yahoo! Bing and others.
- Although they are not included in the list, you can add other alternatives under «Manage search engines» and then select the ones you want to use by default. Or use it interchangeably. Once added to the list, it is fairly easy to switch from one to the other.
