Anonymous Search Engine
8 Best Private Search Engines in 2021 – True No-Log Services
It’s a deal we all hate, but often feel like we can’t escape: big search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo help us find our way around the web, while we let them grab as much information about us as they can.
These search engines are data collection factories with no regard for your privacy. They log your IP address, your search terms, which results you click on, how many times you bounce back to the results page or modify the search, and much, much more.
All this data allows them to create a “user map, ” a summary of your browsing personality. They sell these maps for billions of dollars a year to advertisers, who then bombard you with targeted ads.
So how can you find what you need online without a company turning you into a product they sell? Using smaller search engines that don’t log your activity is a good start.
We’ve researched the best search engines that protect your privacy, and while they may not be household names, they can certainly do the job if you know how to use them.
In a Hurry? Check Out our Quick Guide for the Best Private Search Engines
Startpage: Uses Google technology without the tracking, to provide an anonymous and smooth browsing experience.
DuckDuckGo: Most well known private search tool, offers a 100% transparent privacy policy.
Swisscows: Uses privately owned servers, and collects search results from multiple engines.
Meta search engine that runs on open source software and encourages you to modify their code for ultimate security.
Disconnect Search: Results are displayed in the style of the search engine they were taken from.
If online privacy matters to you, we strongly recommend getting a top-quality VPN before trying out any of these private search engines. It’s the simplest way to make sure you’re fully protected as you search.
Protecting Your Privacy Online with a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Private search engines don’t keep, sell, or otherwise use your information. Unfortunately, that won’t stop the sites you visit from doing it. In many countries, your internet service provider (ISP) tracks your activity and sells the data they gather. That means you’re being watched before you even enter a search term.
As most private search engines point out in their terms of service, once you click on a search result, they can’t protect you anymore. Sites you visit can record your IP and track your use. Somewhere, most sites have a privacy policy, but by the time you find it, your data may already be compromised.
A VPN is truly your best line of defense against corporations, hackers, scammers, and government agencies, tracking your device location or using your browsing data. By concealing your true location and replacing it with an IP from its own server array, a VPN prevents third parties from tracking your activity.
The best VPNs protect your data with military-grade encryption and advanced security measures that give you complete anonymity online. Features like IP cloaking, DNS/IPv6 leak protection, ad blockers, and kill switches, are important to protect your anonymity, location, and online data.
Most premium VPN services deliver on all of these features. Plus they offer unlimited data, speed, and bandwidth, military encryption, and most can unblock all the popular streaming services (including Netflix).
Best VPNs to Use with a Private Search Engine
ExpressVPN – Markets itself as the fastest premium VPN service available today, but it doesn’t cut corners on security to deliver those impressive speeds. Military-grade encryption, a choice of protocols, and an automatic kill switch work together to keep you hidden from data harvesters.
CyberGhost – With one of the most user-friendly interfaces in the VPN market, CyberGhost gives you total anonymity online with a single click. An automatic kill switch, AES-256 encryption, and DNS leak protection are built into apps for every major platform, so you’ll be safe on any device you use.
Try ExpressVPN Today!
The Best Private Search Engines
1. Startpage
Startpage is the first-ever and arguably the world’s most private search engine currently available. It offers robust search results, customizable settings, and leading consumer privacy protection features.
The experience is very straight-forward and their search results are consistently more relevant than other private search engines. This is most likely because they leverage Google search technology, without any tracking; while other private search engines are largely dependent on Yahoo and BING’s search feed.
Startpage does exceptionally well in the area of user privacy. It does not track, log any user data or share information with third parties. Their headquarter office and main servers are based in the Netherlands, meaning all global users are protected by Dutch and EU privacy laws which are some of the most stringent in the world. Additionally, Startpage has passed independent (EuroPrise organization) audits of their privacy and data-handling practices.
To make searching simple, Startpage can be set as your default search engine on leading browsers or can be installed as an extension add-on. They offer multiple ways to personalize your settings to make it your own and search the way you want. They also have a very responsive and helpful international support team that patiently assists users with easy to complex issues.
Finally, Startpage offers a very useful private browsing feature called “Anonymous View. ” With this proxy feature, users can view images, videos, news, and entire websites with no tracking or trace. Every time you search on Startpage, an “Anonymous View” link will appear next to your search results, by clicking this link they will hide your IP address and user agent to other sites.
To install Startpage’s private search extension – click here.
Visit Startpage
2. DuckDuckGo
By far the best-known service that markets itself as a private search engine, DuckDuckGo is a powerful metasearch tool that gathers results from over 400 sources, including Yahoo, Bing, and Wikipedia. It is extremely popular, receiving about 14 million search queries a day.
We don’t doubt DuckDuckGo’s value as a search tool, and we appreciate that the website includes a detailed, transparent privacy policy. However, a couple of disclosures in that policy might concern you if 100% anonymity is your goal.
First off, DuckDuckGo saves search histories, although it claims that such saving is “non-personal” and aggregate, so that your searches can’t be tied directly to you. Secondly, in addition to ad revenues, DuckDuckGo makes money from commissions paid by affiliate e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay.
That is by no means the same as selling your data, but if you prefer a private search engine that operates completely independently from companies known to be aggressive data collectors, you might want to go with one of the other options below.
Regardless, before using DuckDuckGo, make sure to thoroughly review the company’s privacy policy to see what information from your searches will be saved.
Visit DuckDuckGo
3. Swisscows
Swisscows’ privacy policy is simple and to the point: “We do not collect any of our visitors’ personal information. None whatsoever. ”
It does not record your IP address, browser information, or device information. You search terms are not recorded or analyzed, either. The only data that Swisscows records is the total number of search requests it receives each day.
The search engine uses its own, privately-owned servers and does not rely on any third-party infrastructure. Its DataCenter is located underground in the Swiss Alps, and is protected by Switzerland’s strong privacy and data retention laws. None of its infrastructure is located inside the EU or the US.
So, how does Swisscows make money? It displays sponsors’ banner ads with your search results. These ads are based on your search query, and not your location or search history. They are non-invasive and, in line with Swisscows’ family-friendly status, never contain explicit or sexist content.
Visit Swisscows
4.
Technically, is a metasearch engine, which means that it gathers results from popular search engines and combines them. Like StartPage, Searx removes any identifying data from your request so that Google and other sites receive the search phrase as an anonymous request.
Searx’s terms of service state that the search engine “doesn’t care what you search for” – in other words, no record of the search or your data will be kept. Unlike StartPage, however, Searx does not include ads on search results pages.
Instead, all results pages, along with several other pages on the website, include a link to make a donation in support of the service. The main donations page even summarizes donations received so far (anonymously, of course).
Searx runs on open-source software, and its code is available on Github. In fact, the company actually encourages you to download the code and modify it as you see fit for maximum privacy protection. For the less tech-savvy, customizable Advanced Settings are available on the main search page.
Be aware, however, that if you download the code and run it from your own device, the search results will not be grouped with others and so could be linked directly to your IP. That would of course defeat the whole purpose of using a private search engine.
Searx is also available as a Firefox extension so can use it without navigating to the homepage.
Visit
5. Disconnect Search
At least for now, Disconnect Search is an exception to the rule that a company offering you internet services for free must be making money off you in other ways. The company plans to build out the service to include paid options, but the search engine doesn’t currently generate revenue.
Like StartPage and, Disconnect Search gets its results from other search engines. The search page allows you to choose the specific search engine it will use – the options are Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo (see below).
Also like the above providers, Disconnect Search submits your query anonymously so that it cannot be tracked to you, and keeps no record of your searches.
One of the nicer features of this engine is that it displays results in the style of the search engine they come from. This means that results pages are more visually pleasing than the ones you get with the above services.
If you want local results, you can install the Disconnect Search browser extension and search for results by location.
Disconnect also offers a VPN and a private browser. However, due to its many shortcomings, Disconnect’s VPN is not one that we recommend. Click here for a list of our top-rated VPNs.
Visit Disconnect Search
6. MetaGer
Created by a German non-profit NGO, MetaGer is very popular in its home country and is now attracting users around the world. Similar to the above providers, MetaGer converts your search request into an anonymous query that it transmits to major search engines.
Unlike those services, however, this private search engine integrates with a proxy server that hides your IP address, allowing it to protect your privacy in ways other search engines can’t.
MetaGer’s results pages include an “open anonymously” option for every link. If you select this option, your transmission will be sent through an anonymous proxy so that the receiving website and any third parties can’t track you.
That privacy protection continues if you follow links on the destination website. It’s still not the same level of security as you would get from a top VPN, but it is a huge step up from handing over all your data to Google day after day.
Like Disconnect Search, MetaGer is supported by user contributions; you will see a prominent Donate button on your results pages. The code behind the site is open source and available for review by anyone.
Visit MetaGer
7. Qwant
We’ve ranked Qwant here because although it doesn’t relentlessly gather information like Google, it does collect some basic data. The company pledges that it “does not track people, and that’s never going to change, ” but its fulfillment of that pledge is a little complicated.
The search engine is free to use without registering. If you do register, you have the option of saving searches or creating favorites. Registration requires providing your name and email address, which Qwant uses to create logs and then provide you with “personalized results. ”
All of that starts to sound a little too close to the practices of traditional search engines for comfort. However, Qwant claims that it only saves search queries, that no personal information is ever shared with third parties, and that it never engages in behavioral targeting.
Perhaps that’s all true, but Qwant also acknowledges that its revenue source is advertising, and that ads are generated in cooperation with the Microsoft Bing ad network. An association with Microsoft doesn’t exactly scream “user privacy first” to us.
We are glad, however, that the provider filters out native advertising from results.
With the protection of a VPN, you can try Qwant for yourself and see how well it upholds its promises. If you have children, you might also like Qwant Junior – a search engine geared towards children that blocks unsafe results (such as those containing pornography).
Visit Qwant
8. Yase
Yase takes its no-logs promise seriously. The company’s privacy policy states that it doesn’t “share any personally identifying information publicly or with third-parties, except when required to by law”, and that it doesn’t store any user logs or activity. It also specifically states that it does not store IP addresses.
The site uses Bing to answer queries. It also collects information from other sites like Wikipedia. This means you get fast, accurate answers while retaining your privacy – a win-win situation. It offers separate web, images, videos, and news results, and allows users to set filters including Safe Search and file type.
Yase says you should use its service because it offers a no filter bubble, full privacy, and better results. We also think you should use it because it offers a clean and intuitive interface, user-friendly privacy policy, and smart answer system.
Visit Yase
The Bottom Line
Searching the web shouldn’t mean handing your private information over to third parties. Whether the result is just the annoyance of targeted ads or something far more serious like Cambridge Analytica’s tampering with US elections, surrendering your data is too high a price to pay for a “free” search service.
Private search engines help you keep your personal details hidden while you search, and deliver great results by anonymously querying the big sites like Google and Bing. Unfortunately, even when you use the best services listed above, you are still vulnerable to tracking of your activity.
Only a VPN’s end-to-end encryption and location masking can give you the freedom to browse completely anonymously. If you’re new to VPNs, we’ve got a comprehensive guide that explains exactly how the best services keep both you and your devices safe every time you surf the web.
Since our top-rated VPNs offer free trials and money-back guarantees, there is no reason not to find out what a VPN can do for you today. Any of these services will put an end to your worries about who is grabbing your data and what they’re doing with it.
To find out how you can get a premium VPN for a small price, don’t miss out on our regularly updated deals and coupon codes page.
Privacy Alert!
Your data is exposed to the websites you visit!
The information above can be used to track you, target you for ads, and monitor what you do online.
VPNs can help you hide this information from websites so that you are protected at all times. We recommend ExpressVPN — the #1 VPN out of over 350 providers we’ve tested. It has military-grade encryption and privacy features that will ensure your digital security, plus — it’s currently offering 49% off.
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10 BEST Private Search Engines: Secure Anonymous Search …
Here we review and compare the Best Private Search Engines to help you decide the most secure search engine for useful search results:
Search Engines today have become so popular and ubiquitous that it is hard to imagine our lives without them. Google and Bing are household names and a staple of everyday Internet use. These engines allow you to instantly gain access to any information you desire, anytime and anywhere you want.
If current numbers are to be believed, then Google is enjoying a user base of nearly 4 billion worldwide. However, search engines like Google or Bing have gained quite a notoriety for themselves in recent years due to their dodgy privacy-violating tactics. They have drawn the ire of many users who are concerned with these engines tracking their online search activities.
When you enter your search query in Google, that particular query becomes a part of your online profile and search history. Although this helps Google provides its users with a more personalized experience, it invades your privacy. The more you use such tools, the more information about you is leaked into the big bad world of the Internet.
What You Will Learn:Best Private Search EnginesFrequently Asked QuestionsList Of Best Anonymous Search EngineComparison Of Some Top Secure Search Engine#1) Startpage#2) DuckDuckGo#3) searX#4) Qwant#5) Swisscows#6) MetaGer#7) Mojeek#8) Disconnect Search#9) Ecosia#10) WolframAlphaConclusionRecommended Reading
Best Private Search Engines
Fortunately, unbeknownst to many, there are several legitimate alternatives to Google and Bing that uphold their user’s privacy. Internet is populated with search engines that help you maintain your anonymity online while searching for answers to your queries.
In this article, we will look at some of the best private search engines one can use to browse online without worry. We came up with this list based on how convenient these engines were to use, and their competency in providing appropriate search results every time.
Pro-Tips:
In your quest for the right search engine, you will come across many options that make promises of privacy but seldom deliver. Make sure you only opt for search engines that have a verified history of not tracking user data.
These engines should process your search queries and instantly provide you with relevant search results every single time.
It should harbor a user-friendly and immaculate interface that is easy to use and understand.
It must provide a comprehensive setting option for a customized user experience.
Fact Check: According to Statcounter, Google is still the undisputed champion when it comes to market share, which is currently standing at 88. 62%. It is followed closely by Bing and Yahoo, which stand at 5. 73% and 2. 99% respectively. The most popular private search engine in the United States- DuckDuckGo occupies fourth place with a market share of 2. 27%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q #1) Do private search engines use their user’s data?
Answer: Yes, Private Search Engines use their user’s data, but only to deliver appropriate search results. Unlike Google or Bing, they do not trace or track your movements online.
Q #2) What are the types of private search engines?
Answer: Mainly, there are two types of private search engines.
First, there are those who act like actual search engines that crawl different websites and glean through information to get users the answers they seek, and the second type, which is also known as meta-search or proxy search engines. These engines act as a bridge between search engines like Google and its users.
Q #3) Are private search engines legal to use?
Answer: Yes! It is both safe and legal to use private search engines like Startpage or DuckDuckGo in the United States. However, they are banned from use in some countries.
Q #4) Why is Google tracking user data such a big deal?
Answer: Google tracking user data help make their services more convenient to users. However, some may argue this comes at the cost of intrusiveness that can be difficult to fathom at times.
For example, Google data tracking can result in your search history being exposed through targeted advertising. You may also be assaulted with pop-ups and embarrassing ads while using your system in public.
Q #5) Can you safely use Google with your browser’s incognito mode switched on?
Answer: Not necessarily as Google will use your data and track your movements online anyway. The only way to browse safely on Google is with the help of a VPN.
=> Contact us to suggest your listing here.
List Of Best Anonymous Search Engine
Here is the list of popular private search engine:
Startpage
DuckDuckGo
searX
Qwant
Swisscows
MetaGer
Mojeek
Disconnect Search
Ecosia
Wolfram Alpha
Comparison Of Some Top Secure Search Engine
Let us review these proxy search engines in detail below.
#1) Startpage
Best for un-profiled search results.
Startpage had a rocky beginning. Many dismissed it for sharing many similarities with Google. However, it has evolved into one of the best private search engine alternatives today. It abides by the promise of full-user privacy. It does not partake in selling or sharing your data.
It does away with third-party trackers or cookies that are normally found on other sites. You can safely use Startpage to browse the Internet in complete anonymity. It features a simple interface that can be customized according to your preference. You can switch between different colors and designs in a heartbeat.
Features:
Customizable search engine
No tracking of data
No Filter Bubble
Complete anonymous view
Verdict: Startpage with its simplistic interface and customizable design is aesthetically pleasing. It offers a beyond useful anonymous browsing experience that doesn’t track or share your data. Rest assured, your search queries aren’t being used to profile you online.
Price: Free
Website: Startpage
#2) DuckDuckGo
Best for no tracking search.
DuckDuckGo is undoubtedly one of the most popular private search engines on this list. It is a great engine to turn to if you are at all concerned with your queries being tracked. It has a very clean and user-friendly interface. You will find no ads here.
The engine comes with a browser extension, which you can employ to keep your online activity private. Perhaps its most compelling feature is called ‘Bangs’. You can instantly search for a particular query on another website within DuckDuckGo by simply typing a prefix.
Simple UI with no ads
Browser extension
No tracking or sharing of user data
Search for queries directly within another website from DuckDuckGo
Verdict: DuckDuckGo is a relatively more widely used secure search engine on this list. It provides users with an exceptional private browsing experience. The engine is simple to use and comes with a browser extension that makes anonymous browsing more convenient.
Website: DuckDuckGo
#3) searX
Best for decentralized Internet surfing.
While not as smooth as the former two engines on this list, searX is still an effective meta-search engine. It works to present the user with a decentralized outlook on the Internet. The search engine has a bare-minimum appeal, offering its users nothing but a giant search bar to enter their queries.
The engine also offers several great preferences and setting options, thus making it more flexible to use. It is also incredibly fast, providing you with appropriate results for your queries in an instant. You also get the option to customize this engine in order to host it on your server as your own personal search engine.
Complete user privacy
Proxy search
Open-source
Fully customizable
Verdict: searX is an open-source proxy search engine that is effective in providing an anonymous browsing experience to users who like to remain private. The fact that it can be customized to be used as one’s personal private engine is why it is so high on this list.
Website: searX
#4) Qwant
Best for privacy prioritizing search.
Qwant is a full privacy prioritizing search engine that takes pride in not recording its user’s search queries or selling their personal details to advertisers. Originating in France, the search engine is graced with a clean, user-friendly interface.
The engine categorizes your results in three key categories, mainly news, social, and web. It also uses AI to provide its users with a dedicated music section that exists solely to help music lovers discover new songs and lyrics.
Scrolling below its search bar will present you with a section reserved for hot trends. Here you get instant access to current events happening in the world. There is also a Qwant Junior section dedicated to catering to children.
No tracking search
Dedicated music and children section
Categorizing search results automatically
Clean and simple UI
Verdict: Qwant is assisted in its offering of an intuitive search experience by an AI that simplifies the process by categorizing search results into different sections. It adheres to a strict no tracking policy, so you safely surf the Internet while remaining completely anonymous.
Prize: Free
Website: Qwant
#5) Swisscows
Best for a safe family-friendly search experience.
Swisscows provides users with an anonymous search engine that is designed to cater to families. Based in Switzerland, the engine works on servers based in its home region and does not employ cloud in its functioning.
It integrates seamlessly with your browser and can be easily set as your default browser page. The engine does not track your online searches or sell your data to advertisers. It also blocks all pornographic and sexual content, thus making it an ideal family search engine.
No tracking and sharing of data
Family-friendly content only
Seamlessly integrates with the browser
Set multiple regions and language preferences.
Verdict: Swisscows may not have the best interface, but it is still an effective search engine that protects your privacy while online. It allows you to search the web with customizable language and region preferences. We recommend this engine for families who don’t want their children accessing egregious content online.
Website: Swisscows
#6) MetaGer
Best for uncensored search engine.
MetaGer is the complete opposite of Swisscows while being similar in their service. They are both search engines that prioritize user privacy. However, while Swisscows blocks certain inappropriate content, MetaGer relishes being the provider of an unabashed uncensored search engine. MetaGer comes with a browser extension and can be used as your own default engine.
You can browse for anything with MetaGer and get instant access to it. They are a non-profit organization and stand to gain nothing by selling your private data. It provides unfiltered and unbiased search results as it ignores click-through rates. MetaGer also allows you to access maps and plan your routes without tracing your location.
Unbiased and unfiltered search engine
Browser extension available
Access maps without location tracking
Verdict: MetaGer is strongly against censorship of any form and caters to users who share the same sentiment. It provides unfiltered, diverse results for your search queries in an instant. It seamlessly integrates with your browser, which allows you to easily set it up as your default search engine.
Website: MetaGer
#7) Mojeek
Best for category-based search.
Mojeek is a unique search engine on this list. It values a user’s privacy and does not track or share user data. However, it does distinguish itself in one crucial way. It categorizes its user’s search preferences. Search results are classified into three key sections – web, images, and news. There is a fourth category that really makes this engine unique.
It allows you to narrow down your search results on the basis of emotions. You can engage in searches by clicking on an icon that each represents a different emotion. Based on these icons, you can look for results that emphasize laughter, sadness, anger, love, and amazement.
Private search
Classify search by news, web, and images
Classify search by 5 emotions
Set customized preferences
Verdict: Mojeek demands a try solely because of its new emotion-based search classification, which is currently in demo mode. Apart from this, it is a standard private search engine that allows users to enjoy an anonymous Internet browsing experience.
Website: Mojeek
#8) Disconnect Search
Best for meta-search engine.
Disconnect Search acts as a bridge between users and search engines like DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and Bing. It provides a secure search experience by getting search results from third-party search engines but presenting them in a more secure manner.
So you can safely browse the Internet under the added cloud of anonymity. There is no tracking of your data or sharing of your data with advertisers. The engine is also very basic, with no unnecessary filters and setting options.
Disconnect Search also comes with a browser extension that allows you to block tracking sites and load pages faster.
Anonymous search experience
Proxy for search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo
Load pages faster
Verdict: Disconnect Search is a proxy search engine that reroutes search results from sites like DuckDuckGo, Bing, and Yahoo in the added cloak of anonymity. It blocks sites that track your data, loads pages faster, and allows you to view advertising requests pre-emptively in a bid to protect your privacy.
Website: Disconnect Search
#9) Ecosia
Best for eco-friendly private search engine.
Ecosia positions itself as an eco-friendly alternative to search engines, apart from being a private alternative to them as well. Unbeknownst to many, heavy search engine use can cause increased CO2 emissions. Powered by Bing, Ecosia presents a private search engine that uses its generated revenue to plant trees.
Apart from this unique premise, it stands strong as a powerful anonymous search engine. It doesn’t track your information or share it. It also doesn’t monitor your search queries for user profiling.
The engine also comes as a browser extension and a mobile app, both work in a similar fashion to uphold user privacy.
CO2 neutral search engine
Integrates with Chrome
Mobile app available
Verdict: Ecosia takes an altruistic approach to the concept of search engine. It will entice environmental activists and other individuals who share the same values being served by this search engine. Apart from this, the engine works as a decent private search engine that is easy to use.
Website: Ecosia
#10) WolframAlpha
Best for Academia search engine.
When it comes to search engines, it doesn’t get any more unique than WolframAlpha. This is a private search engine that emphasizes academic search queries above anything else. Students and eager learners can come here to get appropriate results for their mathematical, scientific, cultural, or societal queries.
The search criterion is classified into four key sections, with further classification within these categories. The search engine can compute queries pertaining to Mathematics, Science and Technology, Society and Culture, and Everyday Life.
You can also upload images to find results pertaining to that image. It comes with a browser extension as well as a mobile app with customizable preferences.
Compute complex Academic search queries
Customizable search preferences and settings
Upload images
Verdict: WolframAlpha is a great private search engine for students, educators, and anyone eager to learn. It can expertly compute complex equations and answer cultural queries without a hassle. Additionally, it also allows you to initiate a search by uploading an image. It is easy to use as both a mobile app as well as a desktop web page.
Price: Free, $4. 75 annual Pro Plan, $7. 99 annual Pro Premium Plan
Website: WolframAlpha
Conclusion
At a time when data breaches have destroyed lives and tanked businesses, the demand for privacy is at an all-time high. Internet is a blessing that can turn into a curse instantaneously if malicious characters online get access to your browsing data. As popular search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo fail at this, we must turn to other engines that do value their user’s privacy.
All the above-mentioned tools do just that while being easy to use and providing appropriate search results. You can browse anonymously knowing your search queries aren’t being logged or tracked by your search engine.
As for our recommendation, if you are looking for a search engine that has already garnered a decent amount of loyal user-base, then go for DuckDuckGo. For a more customized user experience with added benefits of private Internet surfing, we recommend Startpage.
Recommended Reading =>> Top 10 BEST Browsers For PC
Research Process:
We spent 10 hours researching and writing this article so you can have summarized and insightful information on which private search engine will best suit you.
Total Private Search Engines Researched – 22
Total Private Search Engines Shortlisted – 10
=> Contact us to suggest your listing here.
How Anonymous Is DuckDuckGo? – Spread Privacy
If you’re unfamiliar with DuckDuckGo, we are an Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs. We operate a search engine alternative to Google at, and offer additional apps and extensions to protect you from Google, Facebook and other trackers, no matter where you go on the Internet.
DuckDuckGo search is completely anonymous, in line with our strict privacy policy. Each time you search on DuckDuckGo, you have a blank search history, as if you’ve never been there before.
We simply don’t store anything that can tie searches to you personally. In fact, we don’t even store anything that could even tie anonymous searches together into an anonymous search history, which has been shown in some cases to be able to be de-anonymized (like if you searched for personal information about yourself). That’s also why we can’t tell you for sure how many people use DuckDuckGo, because if we counted, our users wouldn’t necessarily be anonymous. Yes, we take privacy that seriously.
While DuckDuckGo is completely anonymous, Google is of course not. In fact, quite the opposite. On Google, your searches are tracked, mined, and packaged up into a data profile for advertisers to follow you around the Internet through those intrusive, annoying, and ever-present banner ads, via Google’s massive ad networks, embedded across millions of sites and apps.
Unfortunately, people think that they can make searching Google and browsing the rest of the web anonymous by using Chrome’s so-called “Incognito” mode (also known as Private Browsing mode) or its “Do Not Track” browser setting. Sadly, neither of these mechanisms protect you from Google search tracking or its trackers on other websites. We believe it is important to expand a bit on these myths so that you don’t have a false sense of security if you choose to utilize those methods.
The Myth of Incognito Mode
A lot of people are shocked to learn that websites can still track you even in Chrome’s “Incognito” mode.
The truth is that Chrome’s Incognito mode only prevents your browser history from being recorded on your local device and does not offer any additional protection such as preventing the websites you visit from collecting your information (e. g., your searches on a search engine). Check out the fine print.
It is simply a myth that Incognito mode protects your online privacy in any significant way; it is really more of an offline protector. You can easily still be uniquely identified and tracked while using Incognito mode through “browser fingerprinting. ” Just as each person has a unique fingerprint, so does every browser. Websites can look at your IP address, version numbers of your browser, the plugins it uses, and dozens of other points of browser information to create a unique ID — a browser fingerprint —that can then be used to track you.
That is, while in Incognito mode, Google is still tracking your searches, and can use them to send intrusive ads at you across the Web on the millions of sites and apps that run Google ads. Sure, your search or browser history won’t be on your computer, but Google still knows it. And when you get served an ad based on that “incognito” search you did recently (like, let’s say that surprise vacation you were planning), it’s not so private anymore. On the other hand, DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your search history at all, regardless of whether you’re “incognito” or not.
We surveyed 5, 710 random Americans about Incognito mode to understand what people know about and how they use this common feature. 65% of respondents reported feeling “surprised”, “misled, ” “confused, ” or “vulnerable” upon learning about the limitations of Incognito mode.
Note that some browsers other than Google’s Chrome browser do have private browsing modes that do more to protect you online. Nevertheless, we suggest adding our browser extension to Chrome or other browsers as it blocks more web trackers as you surf the web, helps you use more encryption, and reveals the privacy practices of every website you visit.
The Myth of Do Not Track
In trying to escape Facebook and Google web tracking, you might have turned on the “Do Not Track” browser setting. Unfortunately, it’s voluntary and Facebook and Google do not respect it.
Without regulatory measures, the “Do Not Track” setting as it currently stands, is a voluntary setting that hardly anyone respects (including Facebook and Google) which makes it not only ineffective, but worse, misleads people into feeling a false sense of privacy.
Let’s Make the Internet More Private
Our mission is to set a new standard of trust online through the privacy tools DuckDuckGo provides – our anonymous search engine at and our apps and extensions that protect your privacy while browsing the web.
Despite increased awareness of privacy issues and actions people can take, there are sadly still many people putting their privacy at risk, or, browsing with a false sense of privacy. This happens for a variety of reasons, including practices such as relying solely on Chrome’s “Incognito” mode and Do Not Track setting, as we’ve detailed here.
To help correct these misconceptions and reach more people, we’re also trying to educate users through our blog, social media and a privacy “crash course” newsletter.
The Internet shouldn’t feel so creepy and getting the privacy you deserve online should be as simple as closing the blinds.
For more privacy advice, follow us on Twitter & get our privacy crash course.
Frequently Asked Questions about anonymous search engine
What is the most anonymous search engine?
10 BEST Private Search Engines: Secure Anonymous Search 2021Comparison Of Some Top Secure Search Engine.#1) Startpage.#2) DuckDuckGo.#3) searX.#4) Qwant.#5) Swisscows.#6) MetaGer.#7) Mojeek.More items…•Oct 5, 2021
Is DuckDuckGo really anonymous?
DuckDuckGo search is completely anonymous, in line with our strict privacy policy. Each time you search on DuckDuckGo, you have a blank search history, as if you’ve never been there before. We simply don’t store anything that can tie searches to you personally.
What search engine allows you to anonymously search the Internet?
DuckDuckGo: Most well-known user-friendly private search tool. It boasts a 100% transparent privacy policy and does not bombard users with targeted ads based on their searches. SwissCows: An innovative, secure research solution that does not store your data.Oct 1, 2021
