Updated: April 3, 2023.
Here is the list of 19 search engines that do not track their users.
Whenever people want to look up something or learn something new over the internet, they invariably turn to Google.
However, as good as Google is at web searches, it is not as proficient at respecting your privacy. Not only does it save your search history, but it also tracks locations, reads Gmail emails, and even records every single thing that you speak on “OK Google”.
I am OK with that but I understand that not everyone has to be. If you are someone who values privacy on the internet, you will be interested in checking the list of the search engines that do not track you.
⚡ Check the list of 25 alternative search engines (other than Google).
Search Engines That Do Not Track
A search engine is a program that uses keywords and characters that are specified by a user to look for and identify items within a database. This way, a user can find specific sites on the World Wide Web.
Some people prefer using search engines that do not track them because they want their privacy to be respected and protected.
While these privacy search engines might not offer the convenience that you get with Google or Bing, they will ensure that your data and information are not sold to advertisers or other parties that might be interested in it.
Here is the most exhaustive and detailed list of privacy search engines.
DuckDuckGo
URL: duckduckgo.com
The DuckDuckGo private search engine refrains from storing or collecting any of its users’ personal information.
This means that you do not have to worry about any boogeymen that might be spying on you through your screens and you can conduct your search without any unease. In fact, DuckDuckGo even offers useful guides related to filter bubbling and Google tracking.
The search results are combined from several other places (such as Yahoo) and the engine also provides the option for private search, which will show up once you add the extension to your browser.
Out of numerous features offered by DuckDuckGo, the Bangs feature is perhaps the standout one. This feature allows you to look for results from a particular site without having to actually visit that site. It also has a single page with a perpetual scrolling feature.
Hence, if you are someone who does not wish to publicize their personal information and browsing habits, DuckDuckGo is certainly one of the top search engine choices for you.
Here is how search results in DuckDuck go look like:
☝️ The DuckDuckGo privacy search engine has its own Google Chrome extension you can use to perform private searches from Chrome. There is also the DuckDuckGo app for both iOS and Android.
Startpage
URL: startpage.com
While Startpage produces search results from Google, it certainly does not follow Google when it comes to saving and tracking its users’ search history – thereby offering you the best of both worlds. Since it uses a custom URL engine, it is also pretty much free of cookies. This way, you can save every one of your settings without worrying that you might be trespassed.
Furthermore, with Startpage, you get a URL generator, HTTPS support, and proxy service. The URL generator is particularly helpful, since, rather than collecting cookies, it stores your settings in a manner that ensures privacy. The proxy service, meanwhile, lets you do anonymous searches.
Startpage is also committed to working on its designs and offers a lot of different themes alongside its default one, including the highly popular Dark or ***** mode.
So, Startpage is another popular choice for people who want to use Google but are concerned about the lack of privacy associated with it.
Here is what the search results returned by the Startpage privacy search engine look like:
☝️ The Startpage privacy search engine has its own Google Chrome extension you can use to perform private searches from Chrome.
Qwant
URL: qwant.com
The Qwant privacy search engine believes that a user surfing the web should not be used as a byproduct. Therefore, it strives to avoid the selling of personal data by blocking cookies, trackers, and advertisements. Not only does it protect your personal information, but it also speeds up the page-loading process, thereby making it one of the fastest search engines on offer.
Also, intrusive advertising and tracking demand computing abilities that compromise smartphone independence by requiring more frequent charging and consuming more electricity. By getting rid of these requirements, Qwant also contributes to electricity, bandwidth, and, ultimately, carbon conservation.
Here are the search results returned by the Qwant search engine:
☝️ The Qwant privacy search engine has its own Google Chrome extension you can use to perform private searches from Chrome. It also has an Android and iOS app.
Ecosia
URL: ecosia.org
Much like all the search engines discussed in this guide, Ecosia makes sure that your data belongs only to you and not to any third parties or advertisers.
Furthermore, Ecosia allows you to help the environment at absolutely no cost. When you click an ad or make an online purchase, you are helping the search engine generate revenue which is then used to support community-driven plantation programs throughout the world. This not only leads to CO2 reduction but also contributes to sustainable jobs, better health, environmental security, and even greater educational opportunities.
The search engine dedicates a minimum of 80% of its ad profits towards tree plantation and also publishes a monthly financial report that outlines how its finances were used.
Here is what the search results (displaying my SEO audit guide) provided by Ecosia look like:
☝️ You can use the Ecosia Google Chrome extension to perform private searches from Chrome.
Wolfram Alpha
URL: wolframalpha.com
You cannot exactly categorize WolframAlpha as a search engine. In fact, it is more of a – as its tagline says – computational knowledge engine.
This means that if you treat it like a search engine, you might not get the best results. However, there are several things that WolframAlpha can do better than any search engine, such as:
- Answer complex queries.
- Provide precise results – it will either give you the right answer or will not give you any answer at all.
- Perform calculations.
- Conduct comparisons.
Here you can see how search results provided by WolframAlpha look like:
☝️ WolframAlpha is available for mobile devices. It has its apps for iOS, Android, and other mobile devices.
Yippy
URL: yippy.com
Yippy allows users to index and federate all their documents and data sources through its comprehensive connector framework, strong crawlers, and robust API. The engine, through its visual organization, provides a data experience that is unique and allows rapid and intuitive information exploration.
With Yippy, you do not need to swarm through lists and lists of results without any sort of assistance. The software’s robust system lets users manage aggregated information and makes issues like unified data access and big data, very accessible.
Here are the search results returned by Yippy:
☝️ The Yippy search engine recommends using the Brave browser (the one that we have heard a lot about recently).
Gibiru
URL: gibiru.com
Gibiru is a privacy search engine that recommends users to not enable cookies and use VPNs for more robust online security.
Since Gibiru does not depend on online revenue, it will not retarget you with advertisements based on your previous or recent searches. Moreover, it will neither save IP addresses nor put up any cookies on your device.
Also, since Gibiru is a strong proponent of freedom of information, the search results you receive will be completely uncensored. This means that you will be able to view listings that might have been filtered out by search engines like Google.
Here are the examples of search results returned by Gibiru:
☝️ The Gibiru search engine has its own Wormhole Mobile App that allows you to search the web completely anonymously.
Search Encrypt
URL: searchencrypt.com
This privacy search engine makes use of end-to-end encryption, with the combination of HTTPS/SSL and AEL-256 encryption, to ensure that your searches are secure.
Search Encrypt uses its search partner network to securely retrieve your search results. Then, once you are done with the searching, the encryption key expires, which means that it is not possible to access your searches, even for someone who might have access to your computer.
Here are the results returned by the Search Encrypt privacy search engine.
Disconnect Search
URL: search.disconnect.me
Yet, another useful privacy search engine, Disconnect Search uses major search engines to receive assistance regarding content searching. This way, you can get your search results from multiple engines. It also displays the results in the style of the search engine that it uses to get those results.
Also, Disconnect Search operates under the policy of never tracking your online searches or other activities or storing your IP address. In fact, it has a feature that lets users post their queries anonymously.
Here are the search results returned by the Disconnect Search privacy search engine.
SearX
URL: searx.me
The main aim of this metasearch engine is to offer complete privacy protection to its users.
SearX aggregates search results from other engines while making sure to not store or share any personal information of any of its users. This way, you can enhance your online privacy and limit profiling attempts.
Being an open-source search engine, anyone can review SearX’s source code and make contributions to GitHub. In fact, users can even customize and host it on their servers along with their own search engines.
SearX provides numerous settings and preferences that are not available in other search engines, along with supreme usability and precise, quick results.
On its website SearX provides the full list of 95 working instances of SearX:
And here is one example of them (https://searx.xyz):
This search engine instance does not seem to provide any meaningful results.
Swisscows
URL: swisscows.com
The very first thing to know about Swisscows is that it has its headquarters in Switzerland – a country renowned for its rigid privacy laws.
This search engine will never save your search activities, personal information, or IP addresses. Moreover, it enables parents to filter out any pornographic or ******* content.
It has a distinctive search system in the form of tags: whenever you share a query, you will be able to view words that can help make your search more direct and specific.
Also, the ad system of the search engine targets you based on your current searches rather than through your personal information or location.
Here are the results returned by the Swisscows search engine:
☝️ The Swisscows search engine has its own iOS app and a Chrome extension.
Lukol
URL: lukol.com
Lukol is a privacy search engine that will use Google to deliver results but will also take care of your privacy by eliminating any detectable element.
This, once again, means that you can still take advantage of the search results that Google would present, but this time without having to worry about compromising your privacy. With Lukol, you can be assured of search anonymity and that you will be immune from any inappropriate or misleading websites.
Lukol is quite a simple search engine – you can take your pick from the web, news, images, and videos, but you will not be able to filter the results.
Here is how the search results returned by the Lukol privacy search engine look like:
However, in order to scroll to those actual search results you need to go through the whole screen of ads:
Oscobo
URL: oscobo.com
Oscobo makes sure to not use any third-party scripts or tools, and this way, it protects your privacy during your internet searches. It also ensures that your data is not hacked or misused in any way.
Through traffic encryption, Oscobo produces results that are completely anonymous and free from any sort of tracking, including cookies and IP addresses. Neither does it share your search history or personal information, nor does it communicate the search term to the website you visit.
This privacy search engine is easy to use and allows you to search the web, videos, and images. You can also use the Chrome extension that it offers, which will let you use Chrome bars for private searches and secure queries.
Here are the search results returned by the Oscobo search engine:
☝️ The Oscobo search engine has its own Oscobo Browser that allows you surf the web anonymously.
MetaGer
URL: metager.org
Privacy is something that comes very naturally to MetaGer – it is entirely built-in and is applied automatically to all searches. Being a charitable organization, MetaGer does not work with the objective of making a profit. Therefore, it will not use your data or even your clicks to generate revenue for itself.
Moreover, its ability to query over 40 search engines offers tremendous variety in terms of results. Also, the private search engine does not produce results on the basis of clicks – this, once again, adds to the variety by offering results that are different from the mainstream ones.
Also, its policy of using only green electricity for the servers makes the engine very appealing to users who are environmentally savvy and want to play a role in sustainability.
Here is what the search results returned by the MetaGer privacy search engine look like:
Mojeek
URL: mojeek.com
Mojeek has a “no tracking privacy” policy, which means that they do not want to know anything about you and you can proceed with your searching without having to look over your shoulder every five minutes.
But the aspect that makes Mojeek stand out is its independent technology and the complete control over results and algorithms that come with it. This means that, when you search for something on Mojeek, you will get results from their webpage database, made searchable through this independent technology. This independence eliminates any bias from search results that you might find with other search engines.
Here are the search results returned by Mojeek:
Hulbee
URL: hulbee.com
Hulbee provides all its users the ability to stringently control permission and access roles. This can be done through the integration of the search solution with the Active Directory and further customization of the access settings.
Secondly, along with the web and intranet, Hulbee can also scour its database to produce search results. This broad indexing ability enables users to cross-search for documents and information that has the most relevance for them, regardless of the format. Hulbee has recently been merged with Swisscows.
The search engine walks the extra mile to come up with the information that you require. Alongside the mainstream documents and media formats, Hulbee can also look for hypertext files, scripts, source codes, and more. This will allow you or your organization to store all kinds of files and make them easily accessible to anyone who has permission to access them.
Operating around Artificial Intelligence, the Hulbee Enterprise Search assures its users that they will be enjoying a solution that is subject to constant updating with the use of cutting-edge, sophisticated technology.
Peekier
URL: peekier.com
Just like the other privacy search engines discussed in this article, Peekier is dedicated to the two biggest security concerns facing internet users – user privacy and security.
Peekier will neither track browsing sessions, nor record any information (such as IP addresses, unique IDs, or browser user agents) that could be utilized for your identification.
Although the search engine might store your search queries for caching, they will not be associated with any personally identifiable information. Peekier does not use cookies and it will not save your search histories.
Moreover, Peekier steers clear of analytics suites, social buttons, external CDNs, or any other services that collect or store user data. Every search result produced by Peekier is pulled from Bing.
Here are the search results returned by the Peekier search engine:
Gigablast
URL: gigablast.com
Just like SearX, Gigablast is also one of the few open-source search engines. Along with quick results, Gigablast also offers a retro look, which is a nod to Google Instant which has recently been made defunct.
Some studies are suggesting that search results from Gigablast were even better than the results produced by Google and Bing.
Here is what the search results provided by Gigablast look like.
Yandex
URL: yandex.com
Yandex is the leading search engine in Russia and provides stiff competition to Google there. It has a broad range of services and can be used as a web browser and mobile application. Users can also benefit from its translation service, mailing service, analytics, and cloud storage options.
Being the fifth-largest global search engine, Yandex is an interesting option. The Yandex Browser beta version allows you to completely control the collection of data about your activity online.
Here are the search results returned by Yandex:
☝️ Check the full list of Yandex search operators to learn more about how to efficiently use this search engine.
