Private Search Engines – The Ultimate Guide

This new and improved guide aims to be the most in-depth resource available (6,000+ words) on private search engines. Below we’ll take a close look at the best private search engines for 2019, as well as examining other aspects of private search and keeping your data safe from third parties. (May 2019 update)

Search engines may help you find what you’re looking for, but it often comes at a price: your privacy.

Most of the big search engines today are essentially data collection tools for advertising companies. Collecting your private data helps these companies to make money on targeted ads, which is a booming industry. Unless you are using a private search engine, your data is ending up in the hands of third parties and you are the product.

Here is the information being collected by some of the larger (not private) search engines:

  1. Source IP address
  2. User agent
  3. Location
  4. Unique identifier (stored in browser cookies)
  5. Search queries

Using a search engine can disclose highly personal information about you, such as medical issues, employment status, financial information, political beliefs, and other private details. This data, of course, will be collected, stored, and linked to your data profile. The only way to effectively “opt out” of this, is to keep your data safe and out of the hands of the data collectors.

In this new and improved guide, we’re going to take a deep dive into the world of private search engines, while also covering some FAQs and best practices for keeping your data safe and private. Table of contents:

  1. Best private search engines for 2019 (we’ll examine 13 different search engines)
  2. How do private search engines make money?
  3. DuckDuckGo vs Startpage
  4. Are US-based search engines safe?
  5. How to keep your searches private
  6. Considerations when choosing a private search engine

All recommendations in this guide are my own opinions based on extensive testing and research.