How do you choose your search engine? Or, do you even choose it? Usually, users go with the flow and use what they got accustomed to, or what their friends recommend.
But it is important to know how each of them works and how much they praise your privacy. So, let’s see!
To be able to choose the right searching solution for your needs, you should be aware of what this means. So, a search engine is a web-based software system. It can find web pages according to your web search.
Such tools look systematically on the World Wide Web for the information a user specifies in a textual web search query. Then, it returns the results, known as search engine results.
Because of the ease of use and the quick results, they are some of the most important tools for any web user.
Of course, there are other options which might make the choice more difficult. We will have a look at the most important ones.
Google is the most popular and also the market leader, and its dominance gives it a huge advantage. Still, it has to face increasing competition from AI-powered solutions.
You.com, for instance, offers a solution that “you control”! It operates in personal, or in private mode. This means that users have the chance to configure their source preferences and also remain untraced.
Yep.com compensates content creators, offering them 10% of the revenue share they generate. On the other hand, Openverse.org offers copyright-free content results.
But there is also an ecological option. Ecosia is a German company. It uses 80% of its profits from advertising to support tree-planting projects.
Some other alternatives bet on what Google lacked. Quant, a French solution, and DuckDuckGo stress data privacy. Of course, the Russian Yandex, or the Chinese Baidu are some other options. But privacy is not their strength.
So, it seems to be quite difficult to make a decision, right?
Google customizes results for every particular searcher. Which might seem very convenient. Still, keep in mind that they control the search engine results. And this may result in manipulation.
Ecosia differentiates itself. While knowing that each search consumes energy, Ecosia invests most of its advertising money in reforestation projects.
Ecosia uses Bing’s search engine index, just like DuckDuckGo. However, DuckDuckGo’s focus is on privacy, as it does not harvest private data from its users.
One more privacy-friendly option is Qwant. This one even maintains its index and comes with a liter version for mobile devices. It also integrates a children’s search, for a few countries.
For those who need scientifically based results, WolframAlpha from Wolfram Research is worth a try. Although it is not a real search engine, but rather an answer engine, it semantically evaluates queries. Then, it returns facts.
The Internet Archive Search allows users to restore some old versions of websites. The non-profit Internet Archive developed it, using the “WayBack Machine”. It can find archived books, radio recordings, and other media files.
A very useful tool for those in the education sector, Openverse allows using media and content under Creative Common licenses. The author is the one who decide how the works can be used.
Now, when you know all these details, you can make an informed decision regarding your search engine. This might also protect you from search engine malware.
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