Startpage or DuckDuckGo
from TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website to privacy@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 00:46
https://startrek.website/post/19678277

So. I’ve been using startpage for a while and was wondering if it were better over DuckDuckGo ?

#privacy

threaded - newest

Emberleaf@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 00:47 next collapse

DuckDuckGo is generally considered the more private of the two. And StartPage had some shady issues a while back, but I can’t for the life of me remember what they were…

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website on 22 Feb 00:50 collapse

Thanks I will look into that

timroerstroem@feddit.dk on 22 Feb 01:32 collapse

Whatever nebulous issues one or the other may or may not have had, my personal experience is that startpage (from my understanding, basically privacy’d google) provides higher quality search results than DDG (fmu, basically privacy’d bing).

skribe@aussie.zone on 22 Feb 00:57 next collapse

As an alternative for both, try searXNG.

searx.space for instances.

github.com/searxng/searxng for the code, you can run your own instance.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SearXNG for the wikipedia article.

Personally, I find it returns much better results than anything currently available elsewhere. It reminds me of a time when search actually worked. Also, no ads and no tracking.

BTW, different instances can supply poorer results than others, so shop around to find the best one for you.

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website on 22 Feb 01:00 next collapse

Incredible. I was thinking about something like that, didn’t know it exist already

AFC1886VCC@reddthat.com on 22 Feb 09:58 collapse

I just tried it with a few different instances, the fact that you can search the web for files is awesome. Just one problem though, I tried searching for a few specific websites in the “general” tab and they just wouldn’t show up in the results.

Maybe I’m just missing something.

skribe@aussie.zone on 22 Feb 12:02 collapse

I don’t believe you are. I’m not certain it’s been implemented… yet.

The entire Fediverse is a work in progress. It’s just better than the alternatives.

land@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 01:01 next collapse

I’ve been using Brave Search with Zen browser. Pretty good.

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website on 22 Feb 01:03 next collapse

I’m on Firefox Edge for my cellphone, Firefox for the rest

cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca on 22 Feb 08:36 collapse

What is Firefox edge? Do you mean Firefox focus?

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website on 22 Feb 15:25 collapse

Yes. Don’t know why I change the name

xnx@slrpnk.net on 22 Feb 19:07 collapse

Is brave search a proxy version of google or did they build their own index?

land@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 19:28 collapse

They built their own index, but if the search engine can’t find what you’re looking for, they have an option to show you proxied results from Google or Bing.

superkret@feddit.org on 22 Feb 01:05 next collapse

Startpage=proxy Google
DuckDuckGo=proxy Bing

HorseFD@lemmy.world on 22 Feb 02:43 collapse

StartPage actually uses a combination of Google and Bing results, and on mobile it’s entirely Bing.

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 22 Feb 01:19 next collapse

I know it’s a controversial take around these parts, but I’ve fallen in love with Kagi.

If I had to rank search engines by results, in my opinion/experience:

Kagi > Brave > Startpage/Google > DDG/Ecosia/Bing

Kagi/Brave/Startpage/DDG all offer privacy to some degree. I haven’t really fucked with SearXNG though I’m sure its awesome.

Kualk@lemm.ee on 22 Feb 12:08 next collapse

I’ve been disappointed by many and don’t trust commercial space.

Dig around and you will find no so pleasant information on DDG and Kagi. I suspect same is true for any business backed search.

I used both and eventually run into negative information, which made me reconsider both. I started with DDG, then Kagi.

It is SearXNG all the way for me now and there are no regrets so far. Other post on it is the best option.

xnx@slrpnk.net on 22 Feb 19:09 collapse

What negative information have you found about Kagi?

Kualk@lemm.ee on 22 Feb 19:58 collapse

Owner is spending all resources into AI neglecting actual search.

There was something else, but I forgot.

doodledup@lemmy.world on 23 Feb 16:25 next collapse

I got an article about polar bears as 7th result for the search “Monkey”. Great…

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 23 Feb 18:36 collapse

I mean sure, if you ignore the first 20 or so relevant links before that, you’re right, that one does show up when searching for monkey (proof)

You can add literally any other word to the search and that one result disappears. Even bear monkey. Regardless of the fact that no one searches for just the word monkey, I find Kagi’s rankings consistently prioritize more quality and informative content.

Comparing to other search engines, Google is obsessed with the movie The Monkey, Bing really wants you to watch Monkey Baby Bon Bon live what looks like a nightmare life, Brave gives an OK mix of content, still with a The Monkey focus, and Kagi gives you a really solid mix of results across the monkey spectrum for such a vague query (plus one whole link to an article about polar bears).

If the polar bear result specifically bothers you, you can report it to Kagi and I’m sure they’ll fix it. I’m still happy with my choice though.

Edit: decided to check DDG as well - I’d written it off in my head as just Bing, but the results were slightly different - the Monkey Bon Bon nightmare fuel was pretty significantly demoted, and for better or worse, DDG was blissfully unaware of the movie The Monkey. Not a bad result overall.

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 24 Feb 07:18 collapse

And, 12h later, I checked back and the polar bear result is gone. Either it was a glitch in the matrix or the Kagi team has eyes everywhere.

checkfit@lemmy.world on 25 Feb 17:50 collapse

Why it’s controversial? Kagi not secure/private enough?

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 25 Feb 18:08 collapse

  1. People don’t like the idea of paying for stuff they’re used to getting for free

  2. Privacy Guides does not include Kagi in their recommendations because an account is required in order to search, despite it being against their privacy policy to log, and despite the fact that they allow “no-log” VPNs, messaging apps, etc. which all require accounts. They’re starting to soften to Kagi with their new Privacy Pass feature, however they seem hung up on the fact you need an account to generate private tokens. Accounts can be made with burner emails and paid with crypto.

  3. Kagi leadership has had some controversial opinions on search censorship (they’re fairly blanket opposed to it) and other social issue in the past

  4. In addition to search, Kagi offers AI tools, which is a turn-off for a lot of people

To me, none of these things are deal breakers, but some folks are eager for an excuse to complain.

Auster@thebrainbin.org on 22 Feb 02:19 next collapse

I'm more biased against Google than against Microsoft, and as mentioned in another comment, the search engines are proxies of the respective companies, so it's hard to give an objective opinion.

Now, what I would suggest, trying to be as neutral as possible, is to test both and see which fit your needs more. After that, use mainly the better one and keep the other as a fallback option.

NahMarcas@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 09:46 next collapse

Ddg have AI and its bad. Startpage still being a google API. I consider SP because you can run it completly without javascript

moonpiedumplings@programming.dev on 22 Feb 18:53 next collapse

Can’t you run ddg without javascript, on their plain html version?

html.duckduckgo.com/html/

NahMarcas@lemmy.ml on 23 Feb 11:24 collapse

Still cannot see other thing than websites entries in minimalist form, SP can show images, videos and more

doodledup@lemmy.world on 23 Feb 16:09 collapse

You can turn the AI off. And it’s not bad at all. I find it quiet useful sometimes. Plus, it’s private.

Zerush@lemmy.ml on 22 Feb 12:13 collapse

I use several search engines. All have their + and -. As main search I use Andi, apart Startpage, Mojeek, Whoogle, Ghostery Search, Groot and some others, apart some specific ones, like Forums, Pixabay, Wolphram Alpha, etc., I find what I’m searching for. Multisearch engines are fine, but they don’t show the same results of the engines which API’s they use. Apart of privacy, it’s mayby more important to avoid search engines which logs the searh history, because the filter bubble effect, causing an biased information.