List of the 10 Best Private Search Engines in 2023

April 20, 2023 By Christine Margret No Comments 8 minutes

What internet search engine are you using right now? I am pretty sure that it’s Google. You’re not alone; 90% of all internet users use it. However, when it comes to privacy, Google has a terrible record. For this reason, many users now opt to use private search engines instead.

In this blog, I will show you the top 10 private search engines that do not store your search queries or track you while you are online. Before hoping to do that, let’s first understand what is a private search engine.

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What is a Private Search Engine?

A private search engine functions exactly like any other search engine. Meaning you type into the search bar, click enter and get your results.

The private search engine is not the same as the Incognito mode. They may sound similar, but incognito mode allows websites you visit to track you.

However, Incognito mode clears its browsing session history and cookies. But, it is not enough to make you private and secure online. If you want to know more about Incognito mode, you can check out our this blog.

How is a Private Search Engine Better Than a Regular Search Engine?

Four significant reasons make private search engines better than regular ones.

Private search engines don’t track your personal data
Private search engines don’t store your search history
Private search engines don’t store your IP address in any data center
Lastly, Private search engines don’t have targeted advertisements.

Types of Private Search Engines

There are two main types of private search engines. One is Anonymous, or free, and the other one is subscription-based or paid. Also, find the types of web browsers in detail here.

Anonymous or free private search engines do not collect any data, but they need money for survival, and because of this, they are ad-supported. It means that they may track your data if you click on any of the ads shown just to make themselves live on.

On the other hand, paid private search engines get their share of revenue by selling their subscription plans. Therefore, they only collect the data to improve your search experience rather than sell it.

Private search engines are much more privacy-focused than free ones. You can switch to any free search engine for trial purposes, and if it suits you, then switching to a paid one is highly recommended.

Now you might be wondering which search engine you should try. Well, for that, check out our curated list of the top 10 best private search engines in 2023 below.

1. DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is one of the most popular private search engines today. It collects your search results from 400 sources, including Bing, Wikipedia, and Yahoo. It also offers a bang feature that allows you to visit a website directly when you add an exclamation mark in front of your search term.

The best thing about it is that there are no ads, and the interface is clean and easy to use. This search engine also comes with a Chrome browser extension, making browsing even more convenient and anonymous. To find out more about DuckDuckGo, check out here.

Features

Browser extension
No tracking or sharing of user data
Bang for direct search queries
Simple UI with no ads.

2. Qwant

Qwant is a high-privacy search engine based in France, so it has to meet strong European data and privacy laws.

It doesn’t use cookies, collect personal data, or track users in any way, and its design is quite similar to Google.

In addition, Qwant offers a clean and user-friendly interface and categorizes its users’ search results into three main categories “Web,” “News,” and “Social media.” The homepage offers news, trending people, events, and other exciting stories.

Moreover, just like the DuckDuckGo, Qwant also offers a bang feature that makes it easier to visit a website by adding an exclamation mark right after typing your search query.

Features

Automatic Categorizing search results
No tracking search
Clean and simple UI
Dedicated music and Kids’ section

3. SearchEncrypt

SearchEncrypt is another private search engine that protects your data with local encryption. This search engine gets the results from its search partner networks. It also deletes your search terms after browsing.

It’s default privacy is better than DuckDuckGo. The SearchEncrypt Google Chrome extension is also available. It is a user-friendly private search engine that allows you to search for news, maps, and privacy-friendly videos.

Features

Advanced Security & Encryption options
Easy interception & redirection

4. Yippy

Yippy is a very well-structured private search engine that sorts your search results with appropriate categorization. You can also flag or filter the categories as per your choice.

Yippy offers no ads, and it is easy to use. Yippy also allows users to search for a wide range of content, such as jobs, news, images, blogs, and more.

Features

Content connectors to find relevant searches.
Field-level security to keep the search confidential
Extensive customization

Note: All these features are only available for enterprise-level, not for the regular web app.

5. Gibiru

Gibiru also uses encryption to protect your data. It has no ads and uses Google’s algorithm to fetch your search results without tracking.

Gibiru is not a custom-built privacy-focused search engine. It is only a Google based web tool with eliminated privacy concerns.

Gibiru is faster than other encrypted search engines because it uses “Google Custom Search” to provide quality service with zero tracking methods.

Features

Never save your search data on servers
Identifies censored sites and brings them to top

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6. Searx

Searx is a free metasearch engine tool. It is highly privacy-focused, so it never shares your search history or IP address with its other search partners.

The best thing is that Searx blocks cookies and protects data from malicious scripts.

Searx links search results to the specific site directly instead of a tracked redirect link. This way, it protects you from accidentally clicking on malicious sources.

Features

Never shares and stores data and browsing history
Removes everything when you are done browsing
100% open source in nature

7. Ecosia

Ecosia is powered by Bing. It is an eco-friendly, CO2-neutral private search engine. It ensures privacy in various ways; it neither stores data nor creates a profile or sells it.

This browser is highly focused on environmental health and uses 80% of its profits on the plantation. However, it is not ad-free as it generates revenues from showing non-intrusive ads.

Additionally, it encrypts your internet searches for protection. Ecosia never creates user profiles based on search patterns. Neither it uses external tracking tools.

Features

Ad-supported
Support for a desktop computer or laptop and mobile iOS and Android apps.

8. Mojeek

Mojeek doesn’t depend on external search engines, and it is a crawler-based search engine. It crawls the web and forms its own index of websites, and using those websites, it produces the search results.

Since no external algorithms are involved, you get absolutely fair and unbiased search results.

Moreover, it has a strict no-tracking policy, so it won’t track or put cookies on your device.

Mojeek doesn’t track or record your IP address. Instead, it will replace the IP address with a two-digit code showing only your country.

Features

Search classification by news, web, and images
Private search
Set customized preferences

9. Swisscows

Swisscows is a good option for a private and user-friendly browser. It never records your browsing data and immediately removes it.

It is a safe browser that never displays or indexes something inappropriate, so your kids can use it for a secure browsing experience.

It has integrated AI technology so that you can expect more accurate results as per your search context.

Features

Built-in content filter
Family-friendly content
Private search

10. MetaGar

With MetaGar, you can do confidential, private, and non-traceable online searches. It gathers data using different web crawlers. It uses private encryption for security and also supports Tor Network so that you can access its search results with complete anonymity.

Features

Hides IP address with a private proxy
It enables you to Anonymize search queries.

Can I search Privately on Google?

Yes, you can do it. However, you have to follow some security tips. I am not saying that these tips will maintain your 100% privacy, but they will at least minimize your digital footprints.

Don’t allow Google to store your search history.
Delete your browsing session history frequently.
When you browse, log out of your Google account. It will make it challenging to sync your identity and search history.
Use incognito mode for added privacy.
Connect FastestVPN to hide your traffic so that no one, including your ISP, can track your online activities. Check the importance of VPN security here.

Conclusion

These are the best private search engines in 2023. You can opt from any of the available options as per your needs. My personal choice is DuckDuckGo. However, you should remember that private search engines are not 100% private. They can only hide your online activities from the sites you visit. Your ISP can still track and sell your browsing data. A good VPN is the only option to encrypt your traffic with military-grade encryption. So that your ISP, the websites you visit, or anyone cannot track you. FastestVPN covers your data with AES-256-Bit encryption. It is the highest encryption standard that is impossible to decode. So, if you truly respect privacy, then always use a VPN. FastestVPN encrypts traffic and masks your location to provide an entirely anonymous online experience.