Which search engine do you use?
Ecosia! They are not-for-profit and plant trees around the world. So you can help the planet simply by searching. It’s a no-brainer. It’s fine for 99% of searches for me
I’ve gone back to asking my conspiracy theory uncle everything
It’s the safest way
DDG is the default. I use Mojeek when I’m looking for really niche or smaller interest things. I like to think of it as a peek into the old internet. Maybe a bit of a hot take, but I also use Yandex from time to time. It’s great for things on the high seas…
SearXNG -self hosted
Ecosia, both search engine and browser. It appears they even automatically deny and close some consent cookies walls
DuckDuckGo
Brave
Startpage
Brave for most stuff, Google for images because literally no other search engine can do even half as good a job. I literally cannot fathom how every alternative has fumbled image searches so hard.
Hadn’t renewed my Mullvad account for a while so Google but Mullvad Leta is a pretty good product that gives you Google results along with privacy
Kagi. I didn’t think I could justify paying 10$ a month for a search engine, but I’m really liking it.
I have apple so:
• safari as the browser
• DuckDuckGo as the search engine — set to “always private”
• paired with an ad/tracker blocker & firewall/VPN (two separate paid services)
Using one for all needs is the worst way to use even the best tools. That said I am a researcher, academic and personal interests lead me to use many, often at the same time, mainly: Startpage for everyday browsing, SearXNG (self hosted) and Kagi (yes, worth the money, especially if you search a lot and on very specific topics and sources), Yandex (one of the best for looking through the eyes of the “other world”). Mojeek is a nice project but is not for everyone, while DDG is garbage as far as I am concerned. Brave for everyday browsing is fine but I personally can’t get into it.
Search engines as we all know are children of the cultural context where they were developed, and everyone has different needs, it is important to diversify, know the biases and use them to one’s advantage.
SearXNG - Public Instances
DuckDuckGo gives me pretty good results
Sorry all, perplexity is the best now.
Mojeek or Qwant. Haven’t used Kagi as it’s paid but it’s supposed to be good too.
DuckDuckGo needs to make that damn Duck Assist off by default. You can only turn off crappy AI “answers” if you log in?
Perplexity Pro or ddg if I just want a specific website