Privacy Search Engines: 9 Best Options With No Tracking/History

 

Looking for privacy-focused search engines? You're in the right place. Each of these search engines ensures complete privacy, often providing anonymity. 

You can search without concerns about tracking, tracing, or fingerprinting. Your data won't be sold, and websites won't identify you based on your searches. 

Discover the best search engines for privacy and make a positive impact with your searches.

 

 

 

What Do Privacy-Focused Search Engines Entail?

 

Privacy search engines are search tools designed to prioritize and safeguard user privacy. To grasp their significance, it's essential to contrast them with conventional, non-private search engines like Google or Yahoo.

Traditional search engines are laden with trackers. While they claim to store your search history to enhance future results, this practice extends to attaching trackers to monitor your online activities. 

These trackers gather information about the websites you visit, the duration of your visits, and your interactions, such as clicks on products or links. 

This detailed profiling goes beyond the simple goal of refining search results.

 

Top Privacy Search Engines / Private Search Engine

 

Explore the unrestricted search engines that prioritize privacy listed below. Dive right in!

 

1. DuckDuckGo

 

Website: DuckDuckGo

 

DuckDuckGo stands out prominently in discussions about privacy-centric search engines. 

It boasts an impressive record of over 3 billion searches per month and over 14 years of industry experience as one of the alternative search engines to Google that protect privacy.

 

Merits:

 

• Zero Tracking - DuckDuckGo refrains from using trackers or digital fingerprints, ensuring user anonymity.

• Best search engine for privacy

 

Demerits:

 

• Ads Exist - While DuckDuckGo blocks certain ads, generic ads based on search queries remain.

 

2. Yacy.net 

 

Website: Yacy.net

 

Yacy sets itself apart from conventional privacy search engines as a P2P (peer-to-peer) decentralized search platform.

 

Merits:

 

• P2P Architecture - Yacy employs a "people-to-people" model where users serve as nodes collectively forming the search engine. This decentralized approach ensures no node holds superior power or privilege.
• Decentralization - The absence of a central entity or server eliminates concerns about a single point of control, offering increased resilience against censorship or manipulation.

 

Demerits:

 

• Installation Requirement - To contribute as a node, users must install Yacy on their systems, which may pose a barrier for some individuals.

 

 

3. Metager 

 

Website: Metager

 

Metager distinguishes itself as a non-profit, open-source search engine, offering transparency and verifiability, making it a contender for what is the best search engine for privacy.

 

Merits:

 

• Non-Profit and Open-Source - As a non-profit organization and open-source platform, Metager provides transparency, allowing users to verify their claims independently.
• Uncensored Search - Metager fetches data from multiple search engines, avoiding reliance on a single central source, resulting in an uncensored search experience.
• User Control - Users can manually choose and enable/disable search engines, providing a customizable search experience.

 

Demerits:

 

• Interface Differences - Some users may need time to adapt to the interface, especially if they are accustomed to the traditional look of popular search engines.

 

4. Swisscows

 

Website: Swisscows

 

Swisscows is another privacy-focused search engine offering 100% free and open-source functionality. 

It aggregates results from various search engines to provide comprehensive outcomes, emphasizing search engine privacy.

 

Merits:

 

• Free and Open-Source - SearX is free and open-source, promoting transparency and user trust.
• Privacy Assurance - The search engine does not log users' search history and refrains from sharing IP addresses with the sources it pulls data from, ensuring user privacy.

 

Demerits:

 

• Interface Similarity - Some users may appreciate the Google-like interface, but others may desire a more distinctive visual experience.
• Individual Link - Explore the privacy features of SearX by visiting their website. Utilize its diverse search modes and user-friendly options for a customizable and private search experience.

 

 

5. Ecosia 

 

Website: Ecosia

 

Ecosia sets itself apart with a unique mission – tree planting. 

Despite its ecological focus, it earns a place on this privacy search engine list due to its commitment to user anonymity and environmental sustainability. This makes it a safe search engine for privacy.

 

Merits:

 

• Tree Planting Mission - Ecosia's primary goal is environmental conservation, aiming to plant trees with its search engine revenue.
• Privacy Focus - Ecosia doesn't trace or track users, anonymizing search data within a week and stripping off any identification data, primarily the IP address.

 

Demerits:

 

• Ecological Focus - While its ecological mission is commendable, some users may prioritize other features in a search engine.

 

6. Mojeek 

 

Website: Mojeek

 

Mojeek presents a straightforward approach, emphasizing privacy and offering an alternative to mainstream search engines, establishing itself as the safest search engine for privacy.

 

Merits:

 

• Privacy Focus - Mojeek's "No tracking, just search" tagline reflects its commitment to user privacy.
• Solid Reasons to Use - The search engine lists three compelling reasons to choose Mojeek - escaping big tech, the right to privacy, and seeking different search results.

 

Demerits:

 

• Index Size - While Mojeek's index size may not match Google's, it remains a substantial and evolving collection of over 5 billion web pages.

 

7. SearX 

 

Website: SearX

 

SearX is another privacy-focused search engine offering 100% free and open-source functionality. It aggregates results from various search engines to provide comprehensive outcomes.

 

Merits:

 

• Free and Open-Source - SearX is free and open-source, promoting transparency and user trust.

 

Demerits:

 

• Interface Similarity - Some users may appreciate the Google-like interface, but others may desire a more distinctive visual experience.

 

8. Qwant

 

Website: Quant

 

Qwant is a France-based search engine that lets people search contents on the internet with complete privacy. It offers a secure and unbiased search experience. Qwant offers impartial web indexing without collecting data, tracking searches, or using cookies, ensuring impartial information without tracking or influencing user behavior.

 

Merits:

 

• Own Web Indexing - This best search engine utilizes its own web indexing system.
• Blocks Cookies and Trackers - This search engine is known to efficiently block all cookies and trackers.
• Google Maps Alternative - Qwant is most famous for being an alternative to the renowned Google Maps apart from being a privacy-focused search engine.

 

Demerits:

 

• Limited Content - The search engine's limited index may limit its ability to provide relevant information for specific queries, unlike other popular search engines.
• Limited Features - The search engine lacks advanced features compared to other popular search engines, potentially making it challenging for users who rely on such features.
• Unspecific Image Search - The search engine's image search quality can sometimes be subpar, lacking sharp or specific results compared to other search engines like Google Images.

 

9. Startpage

 

Website: Startpage

 

Earlier known as Ixquick, Startpage, a privacy-focused metasearch engine, delivers Google search results anonymously, ensuring user privacy and GDPR protection. It generates revenue through contextual advertising.

 

Merits:

 

• No Logs Policy - Startpage, claiming to be the world's most private search engine, boasts a no-logs policy and security features verified by a third party.
• Anonymous View Feature - Startpage's Anonymous View feature enables users to view search results through a proxy, preventing sites from learning about location, ISP, content, browser type, network settings, and hardware.

 

Demerits:

 

• The Startpage Operates On A Profit-Driven Model - Startpage BV, a Dutch company, generates revenue from advertising, despite promoting privacy and data protection. The company's ads are based on user search terms, without using cookies or browsing history.
• The Headquarters Are Located In The Nine Eyes Alliance - Startpage, a Dutch startpage, faces concerns due to its association with the Nine Eyes intelligence alliance and the country's ongoing data retention requirements.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Each of the mentioned search engines guarantees that your searches are not stored, and your data is not logged.

We recommend starting your journey of privacy searches with the help of NordVPN and PureVPN for those seeking a top choice. 

The remaining options also allow searches without attaching trackers. Consider using a VPN alongside these privacy search engines for enhanced privacy and anonymity.