Which search engine to choose in favor of privacy
You've come to the right place if you're looking for the best search engines that won't track your online activities. Let's discuss some options that can help you find the things you need online with better privacy conditions.
Many internet users aren't aware of popular search engines like Bing and Google tracking their online browsing activities. Or they do not know the extent of this tracking. Browsers track your activities
Browsers use your browsing preferences to tune in to the content they recommend to you based on your interests. However, if you're looking for the best search engines that don't track or monitor your online information, you should skip Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other popular engines. Google tracks everything internet users do online.
That includes your online purchases, the social media networks you frequently visit, people you communicate with, the sites you visit, etc. Each time you interact with Google and its affiliated services, the search engine gathers and stores the data you generate from your interactions.
Whether it's a simple search or something else, whatever you do on Google generates information that becomes part of your online profile and searches history. Search engines like Google mostly use your personal information to deliver the most relevant results.
However, many internet users see Google's use of their data as an invasion of privacy. With that in mind, let's see which search engine is more appropriate for users who value their privacy.DuckDuckGo
Popular with internet users concerned with privacy, DDG is the default search engine of many privacy-conscious users. Like Google has Googlebot, this search engine has its crawling bot, DuckDuckBot, that gathers data from more than 400 different sources, such as Wikipedia, Oath (ex-Yahoo), and Bing.
Even though the service saves your searches, they don't store unique user agent strings or IP addresses. While DDG displays ads for affiliate websites, it's much less invasive than Google. Each time you run a search on DDG, the service uses your IP address to deliver local results without storing your IP. Your IP is immediately deleted.
DDG offers a fantastic user experience for privacy enthusiasts, especially if they're into local search results. With a user interface like that of Google, DDG allows you to easily and quickly browse the web, visit websites, and find top-class videos, images, and any content that comes to your mind.MetaGer
Based in Germany, MetaGer is run by SuMa-eV – a non-profit organization. This privacy-focused search engine is available in three different languages – Spanish, German, and English. Even though it's essentially a metasearch engine, MetaGer has its web indexers and crawling bots that browse over 50 web engines, including Bing and Yahoo.
It's compatible with Tor and can be accessed through the Tor browser. MetaGer puts its focus on delivering as mixed search results as possible. It stores your IP address but deletes it after four days (96 hours). This search engine allows you to perform a limited number of searches per IP address in a certain period. MetaGer gathers some data for the non-targeted advertisement.
It delivers ads with shortened IPs and user agent details, including the OS and browser the search query is conducted from. However, the data it collects can't identify a user.
This search engine protects your privacy by allowing you to browse web pages anonymously – it acts as a proxy and masks your IP to hide it from the destination website.Qwant
Qwant is the French search engine service that doesn't track your device or personal information. More importantly, the service doesn't store your data regarding your searches, browsing history, etc.
This metasearch engine relies on Bing to deliver search results to internet users. Like MetaGer and DDG, Qwant also has its crawlers and indexers. While some slight issues with local search results exist, this privacy-focused search engine delivers expected results via its attractive and unique user interface.
You can refine your search results in Qwant by narrowing down your web selection to videos, social, images, or news. The search engine also allows you to filter the content by date. Qwant is available as an extension for both Firefox and Chrome, and there are apps for Android and iOS.
The chances are your home devices like PCs should be the ones to change first. Give it a go at home by changing the default engine on Windows. What if you are not ready to switch?
Of course, leaving Google might not be easy. After all, it gets things done quickly, and people have grown accustomed to it. Thus, we have several recommendations if you wish to keep using it.
Visit Google or another search engine's privacy settings. There should be options for blocking third-party cookies and personalized advertisements.
You can also take a step further by installing a Virtual Private Network. This tool is handy for browsing. After all, you reveal a lot of information simply by visiting different websites.
Your approximate location is one of the identifiers used. Web entities extract it from your IP address, together with other details like your Internet Service Provider. Thus, get a VPN for Windows to stop entities from learning your approximate home address. Also, experts recommend getting a VPN on mobile devices to stop entities from tracking your location around the clock. Conclusion
Even though there are many things you can do to remove your online traces, you can never entirely disappear from the web. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect your privacy however you can. Some tools and regulations assist users in their journey to becoming more private online. Thus, it is essential to know your rights and detect questionable practices early on. For instance, if an app requires many permissions that do not correlate with its functionality, it is likely not worth your time.
If there are online things you don't want anyone else to see, use these search engines and a VPN to hide your IP address and prevent third parties from tracking your online activities. Also, pair such privacy-focused activities with incognito modes, and you can have the most private browsing possible.
