If privacy while surfing the internet is an issue for you, this list of the most conservative search engines should pique your interest.
Many people are against the way search engines like Google operate. They collect users’ data and claim they use it to deliver targeted ads.
Google has become an integral part of our lives. Unfortunately, the fact that they can’t stop tracking people makes many uncomfortable with using them.
If you’re in this category and need a search engine that doesn’t track, store, share your data or operate as Google does, we urge you to read this post from start to finish.
1: DuckDuckGo:
This search engine’s market share is small compared to Google’s, but that is not the primary concern for a user who wants to break free from Google’s constant tracking.
We included DuckDuckGo as the first most conservative search engine for a reason. First, its interface is similar to Google’s. Thus, you won’t miss Google when surfing the web with DuckDuckGo.
Another reason this search engine has captured the hearts of many is the extra layer of privacy it offers users. It doesn’t track, steal, store, distribute or share your data. That’s why it is a conservative search engine.
What makes DuckDuckGo unique?
- Blocks creepy adverts and annoying pop-ups
- You can wipe your browser history and data clean with one click
- It offers users the option to search privately without tracking users
- Zero distraction and privacy make it great for watching YouTube content
- User-friendly interface makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for faster
- Delivers more comprehensive and accurate results than many search engines in its category
- Gradually becoming popular. It had around 70-100 million users in June of 2021.
A Handy Tip: Limited index is the major challenge of DuckDuckGo. It boasts a smaller index of websites, making it challenging to find some information.
Another limitation DuckDuckGo has is its features. It has fewer advanced features than Google’s search engine.
Well, these challenges are not common to only DuckDuckGo. Other conservative search engines on this list have them.
Before we proceed to the next search engine, let me state clearly that Google’s search engine is more advanced than conservative search engines. It enjoys a larger market share, a more extensive index, and more robust features.
Many people love using Google. When someone says “Google it,” they are asking you to search online. That tells you how popular Google is.
Unfortunately, some users are beginning to avoid Google because of privacy concerns. Google tracks users, and most people don’t like that. If you’re one of them, you can try the search engines on this list.
2: Ecosia
Climate change is hitting our planet hard, but scientists have made us understand that we can fight back. They have opened our eyes to see that tree planting is one way we can eliminate some of the greenhouse gasses responsible for climate change.
Unlike humans, trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. And that makes them valuable in the fight against climate change. Trees help to eliminate carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is one of the greenhouse gasses.
What does Ecosia, a search engine, have to do with climate change or trees? It has everything to do with both. Ecosia is a search engine developed as a medium to contribute to the fight against climate change.
When you conduct searches with Ecosia, you help the search engine to generate money. Ecosia displays ads, but that is if you let them. They make money from the ads and use it to plant trees in places that need them the most.
You can use Ecosia to look for anything you want on the Internet. It boasts a lovely interface and is relatively fast. Additionally, it has all the image search tools you’ll need.
Unlike most conservative search engines, Ecosia anonymizes every search query. Another thing you’ll like about them is that they don’t store users’ data and follow browsers’ do not track settings.
What does that mean? If you turn on your browser’s “do not track” setting, Ecosia won’t have access to your data. But if you leave it on, the search engine will collect some usage statistics.
Ecosia is a not-for-profit organization, meaning they don’t make money for personal gains from the ads they serve users. When you click on the ads, the search engine earns money. But the good thing is that they channel the money made from advertisements into planting trees.
What makes Ecosia unique?
- Ecosia has servers everywhere in the world, so the United States government cannot collect information belonging to a user from them at will, even for non-US citizens.
- The money generated from ads goes into a worthy cause – planting trees to combat climate change.
- Assigns unique tracking ID to users, which you can turn on and off at will
- A not-for-profit organization runs the search engine.
- Search engine adheres to browsers’ “do-not-track” preferences.
- Ecosia anonymizes every search query.
3: Brave Search:
There are numerous reasons people are starting to like Brave Search. The convenience it brings is second to none. Brave Search is independent, private and transparent. It blocks ads and doesn’t track users.
Brave Search is for people who want a search engine that cares so much about their privacy. It won’t track you and ensure you get the search results fast.
A Handy Tip: Note that Brave Search utilizes private usage metrics to measure the overall activities of users. Most conservative search engines on this list do the same thing.
The good thing about this search engine is that it allows you to customize your browser to dictate your browsing experience. For instance, you can turn off the private usage metrics.
Brave automatically blocks ads to keep you focused on what you’re searching. And interestingly, you don’t require an extension to block ads. Brave Search does it automatically.
What makes Brave Search unique?
- Automatically blocks trackers and ads; it doesn’t need an extension to do so
- Automatic blocking of ads and trackers improves page load speed
- It is faster than Google Chrome as it reduces resource usage and clutter on web pages
- Companies can’t track you when using Brave Search
4: Disconnect Search:
If you’re tired of big tech companies tracking you, use Disconnect Search. This browser extension will stop advertising companies from tracking or storing your data. It lets you browse Google, Bing and other well-known search engines in incognito mode.
Disconnect Search’s mode of operation makes it a wise choice for people interested in surfing the web privately. It will reroute your searches through its server and encrypt your queries with HTTPS and other protection modes to keep your data safe.
With Disconnect Search, cookies and trackers cannot profile you without your consent. It won’t reveal anything about you. You can browse images, videos, news, and other categories privately.
What makes Disconnect Search unique?
- Disconnect Search encrypts all your searches
- You can block any website and have access to them while blocked
- Allows you to utilize popular search engines like Google, Bing, etc, in private mode
- Trackers, ads and cookies cannot profile you without your consent
- Encrypt users’ queries with HTTPS and other data protection options
- Offers you complete control over your digital footprint
5: Yippy Search:
This private search engine is another conservative search engine worthy of attention. It is a metasearch engine developed by Vivisimo.
Yippy is named a metasearch engine because it pulls its results from other search engines. Additionally, it doesn’t store data or track users. You can read their privacy policy page. They stated that they don’t collect any identifiable information from users.
This metasearch engine can be helpful to researchers, students and educationists. It can help you find websites that are difficult to find with other search engines.
A Handy Tip: Vivisimo created Yippy in 2004, but the original name was “Clusty.” Vivisimo later sold “Clusty” to IBM. But in 2010, a company named Yippy Inc. acquired the metasearch engine.
What makes Yippy unique?
- It helps you find websites and search results that could be difficult to find with other search engines.
- Yippy Green enables you to navigate the jungle of green topics easily.
- Doesn’t store or track users
- Search results are data pulled from other search engines.
- Reduces the need for users to search different websites individually
- You’ll find relevant encyclopedia clips at the top of each search results page.
- Groups search results into clusters.
6: Qwant
Qwant calls itself the first European search engine that doesn’t track users or share their data like most search engines.
This French search engine came onboard in 2013 and has captured the hearts of many. In addition to the fact that it doesn’t track users, Qwant doesn’t exercise any bias in displaying results.
This search engine differs from Google. First, it lets users browse privately and boasts different programming interfaces. The programming interfaces are similar to what you’ll find on Twitter, Microsoft Bing, and YouTube.
The people behind Qwant have ambition. They have a dream to displace Google one day. Today, they have over 21 million monthly users, with a 70% monthly growth. Their users also come from over 30 countries, indicating how fast their popularity is growing.
What makes Qwant unique?
- They claim they don’t need users’ data to display results
- Don’t track, store or sell users’ data
- Delivers unbiased search results
- It does not permit advertising tracking
- It boasts multiple languages and display modes
- This search engine does its indexing
- Search history disappears as soon as you end your searches
7: Startpage
Startpage is a private search engine. It is a Dutch search engine with headquarters in the Netherlands.
Like other conservative search engines, Startpage lets you surf the web privately. It even offers a Chrome extension that lets you browse Google search engine privately.
Startpage does not track, store or sell users’ data. It will even allow you to obtain Google search results without being followed by advertisers. Startpage BV owned the search engine and launched it in 1998.
What makes Startpage unique?
- It does not track users’ search activities.
- It does not track or store users’ IP addresses.
- Blocks third-party companies from setting price trackers on users, helping to prevent advertisers from manipulating prices when shopping online
- Does not store personal information or search history of users
- Allows you to surf the web anonymously
- Acts as an intermediary, submitting queries to Google anonymously and then returning results to users privately.
8: Gibiru:
Gibiru is another conservative search engine that allows users to surf the web anonymously. It doesn’t track users or let advertisers do the same. It doesn’t store users’ personal information or even the sites visited.
Gibiru is one of the fastest private search engines you’ll find. It doesn’t store cookies on users’ computers.
This search engine also offers browser extensions for web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
What makes Gibiru unique?
- Priorities users’ privacy and anonymity
- It does not store cookies on users’ computer
- A super-fast private search engine
- Offers extensions for several browsers – Chrome, Firefox and Edge
9: Searx:
Searx is an open-source and free metasearch engine released in 2014. It calls itself a privacy-respecting metasearch engine.
On Searx, users can surf the web anonymously. It doesn’t track or profile users. Search history disappears when your search ends.
As a metasearch engine, Searx aggregates results from over 70 searches. But the good thing is that it doesn’t share users’ IP addresses, personal information or browser histories with other search engines.
What makes Searx unique?
- It is an open-source search engine
- A privacy-respecting metasearch engine that doesn’t track or store users’ data
- Aggregates results from over 70 search engines
- Doesn’t share user IP address or browser history with other search engines
10: Swisscows:
Swisscows is a project of Hulbee AG, a company based in Egnach, Switzerland. It was launched in 2014 and stands out from many conservative search engines you may have encountered.
Swisscows’ intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it one of the best conservative search engines. It utilizes semantic data recognition to provide super-fast responses to queries.
Another thing that sets this web search engine apart is its family-friendly nature. It means that kids can surf the web freely without parents worrying about them watching explicit content.
Swisscows doesn’t contain explicit content, which is why it is family-friendly. It also prides itself on the fact that it doesn’t store users’ data.
So, how do Swisscows make money to keep the search engine running? It does this through advertising. But unlike Google and others, Swisscows generate revenue via data-safe advertising.
You may encounter advertisements while browsing on Swisscows. But the good part is that advertisers won’t have access to your data or track you.
On this web search engine, the moment you conclude your Search, your browser history is wiped off. It doesn’t store IP addresses or browser histories or track users.
Note that Swisscows boasts its servers. It doesn’t work with third parties or a cloud service to store users’ data. Its servers are also kept in the Swiss Alps, one of the safest places around Europe.
So, if you are looking for a web search engine that doesn’t enrich itself with users’ data, Swisscows is a great option.
What makes Swisscows unique?
- A family-friendly search engine (doesn’t index explicit or adult content)
- Allows users to surf the web anonymously
- It does not track or store users’ data
- It doesn’t store users’ search history, cookies or personal information
- The intuitive and user-friendly operation sets it apart
Benefits of Using Conservative Search Engines
You can see the different conservative web search engines and what they offer. They have one thing in common – they allow users to surf the web anonymously.
These search engines don’t track or store users’ personal information or browser history. Your IP address is also safe when you surf the web.
Using a metasearch engine makes research easier for academics. How? Metasearch engine aggregates results from different search engines and displays sites that could have been hard to find.
Some of these search engines have a mission that benefits the entire planet. For instance, Ecosia uses the money it generates from ads to fund planting trees where they are mostly needed.
Conclusion
So these are the most conservative search engines currently. In a few years, more will eventually pop up. But in the meantime, let’s appreciate what these Google alternatives are doing.
They let you surf the web without tracking you. There is no fear of a third party stealing and monitoring your data. Just browse and move on. That is how these search engines operate. They won’t store your browser history or deposit cookies on your computer.
So, if you’re tired of using Google and want a privacy-respecting search engine, you can try any of the alternatives discussed in this post.
