Top 10 Best Private Search Engines in 2024

Major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing gather extensive information about you. This info includes your IP address, browser details, a unique ID from cookies, and your search queries

 And if you're like most people, you likely turned to Google for your latest online search. Google's many apps and services have made it nearly indispensable.

Your personal data helps search engine tracking analyze your habits, deliver personalized ads, and follow your online activity.

Luckily, you can swap Google for a genuinely private search engine.

Why Use Private Search Engines?

Your digital footprint is like your physical fingerprint, leaving traces of you as you browse. Every click, every query can leave a trail.

This growing awareness has spurred a demand for private search engines, which promise to shield our online activities from prying eyes.

These search engines offer some refuge for those who value their privacy, promising that searches remain confidential and free from the clutches of data-hungry corporations.

Search Engines with Privacy

Search engine tracking is a part of mainstream search providers like Google and Bing.

Private search engines have become a beacon for internet users seeking refuge from the relentless data harvesting that characterize much of online activity.

These "incognito search engines" do not store search histories or personal data. This means fewer targeted ads — and a browsing experience that feels less like a surveillance operation.

Additionally, private search engines often employ encryption to protect user data, ensuring that searches remain confidential.

Top 10 Private Search Engines

Here are our top ten best privacy search engines.

1. Ghostery Private Search

Ghostery Private Search stands out with our commitment to delivering unbiased results while keeping user privacy at the forefront. 

Our search engine aims to provide unbiased search results, free from the influence of tracking algorithms that often personalize results based on your activity.

Ghostery displays Private Sponsored Links, which are tracker-free affiliate links. These links support us while respecting your privacy. You can disable them in the settings and search ad-free anytime. 

Ghostery Search is available as an extension for Chrome and Firefox.

2. Brave Search

Brave's private search engine places a strong emphasis on user privacy and user experience.

Brave Search offers precise and quick search results, free from the clutter and tracking typical of traditional search engines. They offer unique features like Goggles, which let users customize search results, and recently introduced AI-generated answers.

This private search engine boasts of 30 million daily-active users and serves more than 22 million queries per day. Brave's database is continually updated through the unique Web Discovery Project.

3. DuckDuckGo

If you've searched for search engine privacy, you've likely encountered DuckDuckGo. This search engine handles about 100 million searches daily.

DuckDuckGo neither tracks nor stores personal information, ensuring that searches remain private. This private search engine includes features like !bangs, which lets users search other sites such as Amazon, YouTube, or Wikipedia directly by adding an exclamation mark before their search.

Add the DuckDuckGo extension to Chrome to evaluate the privacy level of the websites you visit, block basic trackers, and switch your search engine to DuckDuckGo. This search engine is also one of the only private offerings in mainstream browsers like Safari.

4. Startpage

Startpage combines the power of Google's search results with a commitment to user privacy. It delivers high-quality results without tracking users, though it is a little slower than Google.

Startpage also has an Anonymous View feature that allows users to visit websites through a proxy.

The company benefits from strong privacy laws since it is based in the Netherlands, making it a reliable choice for those seeking Google-like results without the associated tracking.

5. Ecosia

Ecosia offers a unique proposition: it uses search revenue to plant trees. This environmentally conscious search engine encrypts searches and does not store personal data permanently.

Like DuckDuckGo, it largely uses Bing's index, but provides relevant results while contributing to reforestation efforts.

Ecosia provides a secure search experience by encrypting searches and refraining from storing or selling user data — though it still uses Google ads. However, it avoids creating user profiles based on search habits and does not employ third-party tracking tools.

6. Qwant

Qwant is a European search engine that prides itself on adhering to strict privacy standards. It does not track users or store search histories, aligning with GDPR compliance.

Qwant adheres to strict European data protection standards since it's based in France, offering greater privacy compared to its U.S. counterparts. It ensures that no user information is recorded without consent and does not collect data for advertising purposes.

Qwant offers its own web indexing technology, supplemented by Bing for some results. It also has a kid-friendly version, Qwant Junior, that caters to families seeking a safe browsing experience. Unfortunately, it is only in French.

7. Kagi

Kagi sets itself apart with a premium, subscription-based model that eliminates ads and focuses on delivering high-quality search results.

Kagi is the only search engine that allows you to individually rank (or block!) sites from the search results. Kagi's lenses also allow users to customize their search experience on top of amazingly high-quality indexes.

This private search engine is also one of the only ones left that can display Reddit results since it uses Google's search index, one of many indexes in its arsenal.

The search engine was heralded by FastCompany as "a Google search alternative worth paying for" and continues to receive praise from professionals.

For those willing to invest in a premium service, Kagi offers a tailored and private search experience.

8. Searx

Searx is an open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from various sources while maintaining user privacy. It allows users to customize their search experience by selecting preferred sources, offering a high degree of flexibility.

With no tracking or logging, Searx is ideal for those who value control over their search environment.

While SearX is declared discontinued, it can still be self-hosted, and there are live instances. So because of the nature of this project, we believe it's best left to serious enthusiasts.

9. Swisscows

Consider using Swisscows for a private and family-friendly browsing experience. This browser enhances safety for children by not storing your data and filtering out explicit content.

Based in Switzerland, Swisscows offers a family-friendly search experience with a strong focus on privacy. It does not collect or store user data.

Swisscows commitment to family-friendly content makes it a safe choice for users of all ages.

10. Mojeek

Mojeek is one of the few search engines with its own independent index.

Mojeek operates as a crawler-based search engine that builds its own index of websites without depending on other search engines.

While its index is smaller compared to Google’s, Mojeek allows users to view the web without filters. Like Ecosia, Mojeek is environmentally conscious, hosting its servers at one of the UK's most eco-friendly data centers.

Additionally, Mojeek offers a unique feature that lets you search based on emotions, though we didn't find their results very useful.

For users seeking a search engine that operates outside the influence of major tech companies, Mojeek presents a compelling option.

Features to Look for in Private Search Engines

When examining search engine privacy, focus on providers that don't keep logs of your searches, called a no-logging policy. This means they won't store or share what you've looked up.

You'll also want to make sure the search engine uses strong encryption. This keeps your data safe from anyone trying to snoop on your online activities.

Good search engines should be open about how they protect your privacy. They need to clearly explain what they do with your information and how they respect your rights as a user. Check their privacy policy.

For quality of life measures, be sure that the search engine pulls relevant results for your country. Bonus points if it also lets you customize your search results, like Brave and Kagi.

How to Switch to a Private Search Engine

Here's how to add a custom search engine to Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Chrome

To set up a custom search engine in Google Chrome:

1. Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner to open the menu in Chrome, then select "Settings."
2. Select "Search engine" on the left, and then choose "Manage search engines and site search". You can also go directly to chrome://settings/searchEngines.
3. Under "Site search," click "Add".
4. In the "Add search engine" pop-up, fill in these fields:
5. Search engine: Enter the name of the site, like "Ghostery Private Search".
6. Shortcut: Choose a keyword or abbreviation, such as "ghost", for easy access.
7. URL: Visit the site you want to add, perform a search, and copy the URL from the address bar. Paste it into the URL field, replacing the search term with %s. For example, change https://ghosterysearch.com/search?q=test to https://ghosterysearch.com/search?q=%s.
8. Click "Add" to save your new search engine.

Firefox

When you visit a search engine, you can easily add it from the address bar. For example, on https://ghosterysearch.com/search?q=test:

1. Right-click the address bar.
2. Select "Add 'Ghostery Search'" from the context menu.
3. (Optional) To set it as your default search engine, type about:preferences#search in the URL bar and adjust the settings.

Edge

To add a new search engine in Edge and make it your default:

1. Go to the search engine you want to use.
2. Perform a search. The website you used will now appear in the list of options.
3. Go to "Settings" > "Privacy, search, and services" > "Address bar and search" > "Manage search engines".
4. Select the three dots by the search engine you want and click "Make default".

The search engine or website you used will now appear in the list of options you can select.

Safari

Sadly, Safari does not provide a way to add a custom search provider. However, Safari does offer DuckDuckGo and Ecosia as options for search engines without tracking.

The Future of Private Search

Private search engines have a promising future with exciting advancements on the horizon. As technology advances, trends like integrating AI aim to improve search accuracy and personalization without sacrificing privacy.

Blockchain could also contribute by enabling decentralized search platforms that enhance data protection.

These search engines are likely to become more popular, giving users greater control over their online activities, with stricter privacy regulations globally.

Bottom line

Search engines with privacy built-in will expand as people demand more transparency from big corporations. These tools provide a practical, useful solution for protecting personal information.

As always, get in touch with our team if you have any questions.