On Google if I search “Mens Boots” I immediately see lots of results from shops in Amsterdam and near me selling boots.
When I use DuckDuckGo the results are useless unless I add “Amsterdam” and then it only shows me Amsterdam results, instead of Google which would also show me shops from Germany etc. That has quick delivery times etc.
What are my options? (Non-American would be great)
Google works the way it does because it has basically unlimited resources. You will never find something that does EVERYTHING Google does, because running Google is like shoveling thousands of dollars into a fire constantly.
You have to choose either convenience or privacy.
I want something in the middle. It doesn’t have to be as good as google, just good enough.
Another vote for brave search
For the moment, I’m using Qwant
Here is a cool comparison chart I’ve found : https://searchengine.party/
Qwant has been decent for me. Try it out and see how it goes
Thanks, this seems to be the best I’ve been able to find so far
Yeah, I find it more varied and there’s less ads. Ads are still there though, but they’ve been relevant to what I’m searching for so far.
I don’t have an issue with some adds, especially if they’re relevant to me.
They’re not relevant to me specifically, that would mean Qwant would need to collect data. But they’re relevant to the thing I’m searching, sort of.
Google ads were scary specific before I degoogled myself almost completely.
Replying to save this for later. I’m about to start on my own selfhosting project next week so I’ll definitely add this to my list
AFAIK SearXNG is an aggregator and Whoogle is having trouble with using Google without JS
Brave Search is the best imo. I’ve been using it for years.
Been using Qwant for a while now, happy with it.
In Spain I have to put .es at the end for local results.
However, I use Amazon to source the product I want then find the resellers website and buy directly from them.
My last purchase like that was an 80kg capacity bike trailer that was delivered from Germany and cost the exact same, and the company didn’t have to give Bezos any cut.
Hmmn. If I wanted search results for stuff in Amsterdam, I’d expect to add “in Amst . . .”
Moving quickly on, there’s bound to be some European SearXNG. https://searx.space/ seems like a list.
I think that still uses google though among others. It’s FOSS so you could self host it and set it up how you like I think too if you’re into that type of thing.
I don’t regularly use searXNG though I use DDG - so I cannot vouch for the quality of the results.
I just use ddg and for when i want to search something important, i just use Google(in incognito).
I thought it was agreed Incognito mode does nothing useful. You are still tracked.
Incognito just doesn’t add the history to your browser, the tracking is the same, correct.
For tracking to be useful, it needs data from multiple sources. If it is a brand new incognito session, then it will only have the data you create from that search. If you disable Fingerprinting, it wont have much data and wont be able to reliably and accurately attach or combine that data with other data and accounts.
Have you tried Quant?
Qwant*
IMHO there is no perfect solution for this, but I switched to Searxng (which can be selfhosted) and Im happy with the results. Please note that Searxng is a Meta Search engine, that basically means its using multiple other search engines with less tracking afaik…
Yea there is no perfect solution, but we shouldn’t be looking for perfection. Every step in the right direction counts
Nothing beats Google so you can use European based Startpage just like how DuckDuckGo is based on Microsoft Bing.
It doesn’t have to beat google, it just has to be close enough not to be annoying or not function properly.
Using Startpage still supports google, which is what I want to stop doing as much as possible.
I’ve been using Kagi for a near a year now and it’s pretty good. Reminds me of old Google
Kagi
Isn’t it a paid service and ran by a Silicon Valley corporation…like Google?
Yeah it’s paid. They have a good rep for privacy
Kagi is a fantastic search engine, gets all the critical shit right.
I understand they have gone deep into LLMs, so take that into consideration
CEO: Why would we take your data, you directly fund us so obviously we will only focus on providing the best search experience
CEO: dumps money into AI and a T-shirt factory
Kagi has been amazing, I’m so disappointed every time I try to search for something on my work computer on Google.
It’s fairly pricey though. I don’t mind some adds, and I can also use a add blocker.
