Search. Beyond Google or Bing. The ethical alternatives.
Today I have compiled the list of some of the alternate search engines that are out there apart from Google, Bing and Yahoo! that we already know and many of us use. These search engines are special in ways that Google or Bing isn't and probably they will never be. So find out which alternatives have made it to this list.
1. DuckDuckGo
Are you serious about online privacy? And are you an advocate of privacy on the web? DuckDuckGo is the destination. It's a search engine that is gaining momentum lately and perhaps the best alternative to all other biggies out there. Privacy focused. And as it's homepage says, it's "the search engine that doesn't track you". It neither stores your personal information nor tracks and follows you around with ads.
Link to DuckDuckGo - https://www.duckduckgo.com
2. Ecosia
Finally there's a search engine for us with a noble cause. A cause that I favor, love and advocate about a lot. Based in Germany, Ecosia plants trees by donating 80% or more of its surplus income to non-profit organizations that focus on restoration and conservationism. According to the website, more than 62 million trees has been planted by Ecosia users and the non-profits that are directly associated with Ecosia.
Link to Ecosia - https://www.ecosia.org
3. Mojeek
No tracking. Just search... That's what you'll find when you land on Mojeek homepage. It's another alternative search engine that puts the people who use it first. It is one of the few alternative search engines that is crawler-based that provides independent search results. It also provides unique and unbiased search results and values and respects the user's privacy completely.
Link to Mojeek - https://www.mojeek.com
4. Searx
Pronounced /səːks/ and available under GNU Affero General Public License version 3, it is free search engine that protects the privacy of it's users. Though it gathers results from other search engines, Searx does not share the search history or user's IP addresses. It is also open source which means this metasearch engine is hackable and the source code is available on GitHub.
Link to Searx - https://searx.me
5. MetaGer
This another privacy focused search engine is hosted as a cooperation between the German NGO 'SUMA-EV - Association for Free Access to Knowledge' and the University of Hannover. For advanced users who access the web through Tor network for privacy controls, there is also a TOR Hidden Service (b7cxf4dkdsko6ah2.onion/tor/) that allows users to access the MetaGer search functionality. Like Searx, MetaGer is also open source and the source code is available on GitLab.
Link to MetaGer - https://metager.org
6. Qwant
Operated from Paris, France and available in thirteen languages, Qwant does not personalize search results and avoids trapping users in filter bubble. As the founder says, Qwant prefers "to show something different". And like many social bookmarking platforms, users can post on the "boards" by creating a free account. Qwant also has a web browser based on Firefox on the Apple App Store available for iOS.
Link to Qwant - https://www.qwant.com
Apart from the above mentioned search engines, there are other alternative engines too which are worth mentioning. They are as follows:
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