Alternatives to Google Search Engine That Do Not Store User Data
Below is the list of alternative search engines that claim not to store user data, or what search engines you should try if you’re worried about State Department poking their nose in your user data.
Google officially acknowledges that the number of governmental inquiries into its users data increases exponentially. The owner of the most powerful and widespread search engine on this planet made a statement last March that within the last 4 years the number of governmental inquiries from various state departments from all over the world requesting information about Google users has increased by 120%. Last year scored 53,356 inquiries, which mostly originated from the US government, of course. In most cases, Google collaborates with special services: the United Kingdom government has filed 1397 inquiries to Google, 69% of which have been accepted by Google since July to December 2013 only. The US state inquiries have been satisfied by Google in 83% of cases.
Edward Snowden himself states Google is one of the main allies of NSA’s. So, in case you’re wondering what search engine you could use as an alternative to Google, check out the following.
DuckDuckGo
This is one of the most advanced search engines among Google Alternatives, guaranteeing user data privacy. This is the 1st option that comes to most US tech wizards’ mind when they talk about Google alternatives. Management behind DuckDuckGo claims not to store any user data and search queries, and, therefore, even if the National Security Agency files an inquiry, there’s nothing to provide, since the data is simply not stored. Nevertheless, some experts suspect DuckDuckGo may not be as transparent about user data as it claims. For one, the service’s business model is based on partnership programs, which is exactly what Google does. There is no guarantee, other than the management statement, the administration of the service is not storing user queries to be able to cooperate with advertisers.
Another fact to consider is that DuckDuckGo uses Amazon’s cloud service for the search engine’s infrastructure. Amazon cloud service, in its turn, is the main provider for the cloud services of the CIA. In fact, Amazon has already complied with the US authorities request to deny hosting services to WikiLeaks. However, the search engine DuckDuckGo has not been caught in any spying scandal so far.
Ixquick
This search engine has the interface as simple as that of the above-mentioned DuckDuckGo, but it is worth mentioning it is not a standalone search engine, but an aggregator of the search queries from other systems. That is an interesting approach in itself – Ixquick enables users to use Google itself, but anonymously via a specific cryptographic algorithm. This service basically copies Google’s interface, but the main drawback here is that the search queries are processed with a significant lag, which unnerves the users spoiled by Google’s immediate response.
StartPage
This is another search service that looks like a search engine, but in fact it is only a proxy service that redirects all queries to Google, concealing user IP address from Google claws. Again, the speed of queries processing is way too low for the StartPage to become fully fledged Google alternative. Nevertheless, it is worth resorting to in times of need.
Qwant
This French search engine is a fully fledged service based on its native technology of website indexation. Even though, some six months ago the French community raised alarms about this search engine using Google Analytics to assess its own traffic, the company has addressed the issue and from now on, users can surf the Internet and social networks anonymously. The access to the resource is routed via third-party proxy servers; therefore, Qwant guarantees not to record or store its users IP addresses or any other data. This ensures that user data does not end up in the government’s hands even if a spy agency chooses to confiscate the company’s equipment.
It is worth mentioning that French hackers are collaborating with this service; a fact treated with tolerance by the service administration.
YaCy
This German company is basing its own search engine on a unique technology – its decentralized search system enables users to search for information online without local or global censorship, or other limitations. There is no advertisement, a complicated setup system or censorship in YaCy. It uses the P2P technology, or the peering system, which means that storage of the search index, and processing of search queries is being conducted not by the central server, but in a scattered network consisting of user computers in the system. This means two very important things – first, it is in fact impossible to track search queries made via YaCy, as much as it is impossible to track BitTorrent or Tor users. Second, it is somewhat difficult to conduct research via this search engine because the queries are processed during a rather long time, a detail that cannot be fixed neither by high-speed Internet access, nor special software.
Final words
I would also recommend using the Tor browser for private browsing accompanied by either StartPage or DuckDuckGo, since many users complained that it’s impossible to make DuckDuckGo or StartPage stick in their Top Sites, especially in Omnibox in Chrome. Moreover, Google search results directly reflect biased approach – the top spots belong to those companies that generate the most profit for Google. If you have something to add to the list, such as a search engine that you know respects user privacy, please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
