Startpage: Google-powered search engine + privacy

I've been trying out different search engines because I'm a bit bothered by Google's actions of late, but quite frankly nothing else works nearly as well. I ran across this little gem a short while ago and really like it. It uses Google, but does so anonymously and the page is a lot cleaner than Google's search page. Definitely worth checking out.

https://startpage.com/eng/

Have you tried DuckDuckGo? It was designed to be a lean alternative that prides itself on how it handles privacy.

vansmith said:

Have you tried DuckDuckGo? It was designed to be a lean alternative that prides itself on how it handles privacy.

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Yep. Hate it. Well maybe hate is a bit strong, but no… it doesn't work as well as I'd like.

Any particular reason? I'm more curious than anything.

I refrain from using it only because it doesn't have an image search. I thought I could do without it but, as I found out, I use image search more than I thought.

To be honest, I have no idea how that search engine you linked to uses Google search results without forwarding your search query. How is that even possible? Does it just forward them on to Google on your behalf (in other words, the query looks like it came from someone else)? Does this not solve nothing?

vansmith said:

Any particular reason? I'm more curious than anything.

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A couple times it simply failed to find what I was looking for while Google nailed it. It's really Google's search suggestions that often put it over the top. Once I was trying to look up a medical term that sounded familiar but I couldn't quite recall how to spell it. At the time I was trying Bing (LOL! I still laugh at that ridiculous name) and it floundered. I put my heavily mangled spelling in Google and BAM! It immediately suggested what turned out to be the right spelling. DDG has failed me in similar ways. I'd have to use it again to give more specifics. I didn't give it too much of a chance after it failed on me a couple times.

To be honest, I have no idea how that search engine you linked to uses Google search results without forwarding your search query. How is that even possible? Does it just forward them on to Google on your behalf (in other words, the query looks like it came from someone else)? Does this not solve nothing?

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Their page explains it all. Google is starting to feel a little creepy in their data collection and SP anonymizes all queries. On the flip side, it's also possible my searches with them will be somewhat less accurate if they are that heavily anonymized (sometimes Google having my location data is a boon), but I'm giving it a shot. I may have to simply be a little more specific in some search queries.

Any replacements out there for Google's image search? That's really the main part of Google I'm still using, but I really need it. Any alternatives would be great.