Which search engine do you use regularly?

[VitoBotta]

I am trying to move away from Google due to the excessive ads and tracking, and also because it is known that some results are "too personalized", so biased. I have been playing with various alternatives; it seems that DuckDuckGo is the most popular privacy focused search engine but I tried it for a week and it was really poor in terms of results quality. StartPage is better because of the Google results but I've read not so good things about the company behind it. Ecosia not very good in terms of results either. At the moment I am testing Kagi, which is ad free but it will be paid with a monthly fee when out of beta. It's not bad actually. It seems to offer better results than DDG for example and supports the same bangs. Another one I am playing with is Whoogle, which I have installed on one of my servers so I use it with a custom domain. This one is pretty good too, it returns Google results but completely anonymized and without any ads. The only thing I like more of Kagi compared to Whoogle is that it has some features similar to Google such as featured snippets, instant answers and something called "Lenses" that help specify the type of search. So I've been playing with these and others and can't decide what to replace Google with.

What do you use, if not Google, and why? Thanks.

 

[satcomer]

I used DuckDuckGo.com and been good enough as simple search engine! The others just seem to have way much in them on their slash page!

 

[VitoBotta]

For me DDG was very disappointing. Every other search I had to try Google to find what I was missing. I am trying Brave Search now. Looks nice and can automatically take results from Google (anonymously) when the results from its own index are not good, but it's a little slowish.

 

[MBAir2010]

Duck duck go
edge need and extra step join this over ride ride bing

 

[Tenkaykev]

Brave Browser works well for me combined with DDG. It's my default browser. I sometimes use Safari with StartPage

 

[VitoBotta]

Duck duck go
edge need and extra step join this over ride ride bing

Are you happy with DDG's results or do you check Google when not satisfied?

 

[VitoBotta]

Brave Browser works well for me combined with DDG. It's my default browser. I sometimes use Safari with StartPage

Brave has also its own search engine, have you tried it?

 

[fwmireault]

I use DDG and google is the backup when i’m not finding what i want (less than 5% of the time)

 

[MBAir2010]

Are you happy with DDG's results or do you check Google when not satisfied?

duck duck go gets everything i need, i really don't search that much, and never used anything google since 2013
Bing sometimes needs some love on the Dell XPS 13" tho.

 

[Madhatter32]

I always use Google. It is the best -- unfortunately.

 

[mikzn]

Another vote for DuckDuckGo here - works great for me - been using it for years

 

[three]

I'll throw in another vote for DuckDuckGo. I haven't noticed / been affected by the difference in search results versus Google.

 

[TechRunner]

Bing sometimes needs some love on the Dell XPS 13" tho.

Doesn't it? I mean, it's not the worst search engine in the world, but sadly, it's no Google, for sure.

 

[TechRunner]

I always use Google. It is the best -- unfortunately.

Same here. Sad but true.

 

[VitoBotta]

Yeah I just gave up trying the others and am back with Google unfortunately. At least with uBlock origin I see no ads and hopefully there's no tracking either.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Brave has also its own search engine, have you tried it?

Well colour me embarrassed! I never knew. I've just gone into " Preferences " and there it was in the drop down box. I've switched it on and will give it a go.?

 

[VitoBotta]

Well colour me embarrassed! I never knew. I've just gone into " Preferences " and there it was in the drop down box. I've switched it on and will give it a go.?

It's slowish for me so I passed for that reason

 

[Eric5h5]

Yes, DDG and Brave search work OK for basic, simple things but sadly Google results are far better for everything else. I wish that wasn't the case but it's extremely noticeable. At least half the time with other engines I just end up having to use Google anyway.

 

[eyoungren]

Google, but I also hate the ads and tracking.

So, I use addons/extensions with my browser and the primary one is uMatrix. Third party tracking and ad servers are shut down by default (you actually have to approve them) and uMatrix can be setup so that any site you visit sees you as having just appeared there, not as coming through a Google search.

uMatrix replaced three addons/extensions for me when I started using it.

I only see ads and tracking if I use my non-regular browser (Vivaldi).

 

[MajorFubar]

Google mostly for me. Though I do vary what browser I use.
Safari - mostly what I use.
Firefox - for my housemate who primarily uses it to access YouTube to sing to karaoke backing tracks (don't want her contaminating my YouTube history or suggestions based on her search history of primarily 1980s S-A-W cheesy pop karaokes).
Chrome - for 'websites I might want to access that I don't want my housemate to know I look at' (she is way too dumb to start any app not in the taskbar, so she will never open it).

 

[VitoBotta]

I am using DuckDuckGo, which preaches its desire not to track any information of its users or their searches. Its clean interface and simple user experience make it a unique search experience.

How often do you use !g?

 

[Pilot Jones]

Need to give a quick shout-out to Ecosia!

They plant a new tree for approximately every 45 searches you make. They're super ecologically conscious and operate in tons of countries focusing on local biodiversity instead of just mindlessly planting anything and calling it a day.

They also keep their financial reports extremely transparent so you can actually see how all the money they make is being spent.

It's definitely no Google in terms of search quality, but unless you're looking for something very specific, it really is good enough. It's a wonderful way to de-Google and bring some good into the world at the same time!

 

[Boyyai]

I used DuckDuckGo.com and been good enough as simple search engine! The others just seem to have way much in them on their slash page!

DDG was promising at first. And then Ukraine Russia war came. They start manipulating the results.

 

[fanboy-ish]

Google.

I've tried DDG and Bing, they're fine for simple searches in English, but the moment I need to search for something more specific or in a language different from English then I need to use Google.

 

[exoticSpice]

duck duck go gets everything i need, i really don't search that much, and never used anything google since 2013
Bing sometimes needs some love on the Dell XPS 13" tho.

I use Google. I find it be the best for me.