Privacy Ratings
Search

Private search engines

A private search engine does not keep a history of your searches or build an advertising profile. Each engine below states that searches are not logged, with evidence linked on its page.

  1. 1. DuckDuckGo Grade C Our pick

    Search engine that does not save search history or tie searches to IP addresses. Ads are based on the search terms instead of a profile.

    Why it is our pick: Results good enough to replace Google for most searches, no search history, no profile-based ads, and no account needed. Apps and browser extensions are open source.

    Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 73/100.

  2. 2. 4get Grade B

    Open-source metasearch engine and proxy that fetches results from other search engines and strips tracking, usable at 4get.ca or other public instances or self-hosted.

    Score 88/100.

  3. 3. SearXNG Grade B

    Free, open-source metasearch engine that combines results from many search services without storing information about its users. It can be self-hosted or used through public instances.

    Score 88/100.

  4. 4. YaCy Grade B

    Free search engine software that users run themselves, either as a personal or intranet search portal with its own crawler, or as a peer in a decentralized network that shares a web index.

    Score 88/100.

  5. 5. PriEco Grade B

    Open-source web search engine written in Rust that combines its own index with results from other sources and supports result customization through Goggles.

    Score 75/100.

  6. 6. MetaGer Grade C

    Open-source metasearch engine run by the German non-profit SUMA-EV that combines results from several search providers, paid for with a prepaid anonymous key, and includes an anonymizing proxy for opening results.

    Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 73/100.

  7. 7. Marginalia Search Grade C

    Independent open-source search engine from Sweden with its own crawler and index, focused on finding small, non-commercial and text-heavy websites.

    Based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes). Score 70/100.

  8. 8. Mwmbl Grade C

    Non-profit, open-source search engine with its own community-crawled index, where signed-in users can help curate search results.

    Score 70/100.

  9. 9. Uruky Grade D

    Paid, ad-free search engine from Portugal that combines results from European and UK search providers such as Mojeek, and lets each user customize sources and domains.

    Based in Portugal. Score 57/100.

  10. 10. Brave Search Grade D

    Search engine from Brave Software built on its own independent web index, designed not to store searches with identifiers or build user profiles.

    Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 55/100.

  11. 11. Mojeek Grade D

    British search engine that uses its own crawler and index and states that it does not track users.

    Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Score 55/100.

  12. 12. Kagi Grade D

    Paid, ad-free search engine from Kagi Inc. that combines its own index with results from other providers and lets users rank, block or boost websites.

    Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 50/100.

  13. 13. Swisscows Grade D

    Search engine from the Swiss company Swisscows AG that filters out adult content, does not use tracking cookies or build user profiles, and offers an ad-free paid tier.

    Based in Switzerland. Score 50/100.

  14. 14. Startpage Grade D

    Dutch search engine returning primarily Google results, proxied to strip IP and identifiers. Includes an "Anonymous View" proxy for previewing results privately.

    Based in the Netherlands (Nine Eyes). Score 45/100.

  15. 15. Presearch Grade D

    Search engine from the Canadian company Presearch that serves queries through a network of community-run nodes and rewards searchers and node operators with its PRE crypto token.

    Based in Canada (Five Eyes). Score 43/100.

  16. 16. Ecosia Grade D

    Search engine from the Berlin company Ecosia that shows results and ads from Microsoft Bing or Google and uses its profits for tree planting and climate projects.

    Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 41/100.

How this list is made

Entries are ranked with our picks first, then by score against public criteria. Every answer links to evidence, and hosted services are tested automatically. Only entries answering no search history logs with evidence are included. The list updates when ratings change.

Compare all: search engines. Criteria and scoring.

Questions

Do private search engines have ads?

Many show ads based only on the search, not on a profile. That is rated as partial for ads. Some are paid and show no ads.