In this article, we will talk about the most famous search engines on the Internet that, for some features, are really better than Google.
Google acts as the default search engine in many browsers. Meanwhile, there are many alternative search engines that specialize in certain areas, which offer more privacy, with different content filtering algorithms and different levels of confidentiality.
There has been rapid growth in the private search engine segment in recent years. More recently, it was difficult to imagine that anyone could compete with Google in this field, but today users are much more attentive to the problems of personal data protection. And small players love to use it- from February 2017 to February 2018, Google’s search market share has dropped from 78.7% to 70%.
Some of the competitors, including DuckDuckGo and StartPage, started as normal search engines without an emphasis on privacy. However, realizing the risk associated with the accumulation of huge amounts of data, they decided to try a different approach.
Internet privacy is important. By using private search engines, you may not be afraid that one day your questions may be known by someone else, because they don’t collect data that can be linked to your search terms.
Everything you could look for before will affect the results of subsequent queries. Targeted advertising works on the same principle, which can only be eliminated in full privacy mode. Some search engines offer this mode as the only possible default setting.
Tired of Google? Try these alternatives to find information online.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a fairly well-known open source search engine. The servers are located in the United States. In addition to its own robot, the search engine uses the results of other sources- Yahoo, Bing, “Wikipedia”.
DuckDuckGo is positioned as a search for maximum privacy and confidentiality. The system does not collect data on the user, does not store the logs (no search history), the use of cookies is as limited as possible.
Because you need it
All major search engines try to customize search results based on data for a person in front of the monitor. This phenomenon is called the “filter bubble”- the user sees only those results that are consistent with his preferences or that the system considers as such.
DuckDuckGo creates an objective image that does not depend on your past behavior on the Web and eliminates Google and Yandex theme advertising based on your requests. Using DuckDuckGo, it’s easy to search for information in foreign languages, while Google, by default, prefers sites in Italian, even if the query is entered in another language.
not Evil
not Evil is a search engine on Tor’s anonymous network. To use, you need to access this network, for example, by starting a specialized browser.
Evil is not the only search engine of its kind. There are LOOK (default search in the Tor-browser, available from the usual Internet) or TORCH (one of the oldest search engines in the Tor network) and others. We stopped at not Evil because of an unequivocal clue to Google (just look at the start page).
Searches in which Google, Yandex, and other search engines are closed in principle.
Because you need it
There are many resources on the Tor network that cannot be found on the law-abiding Internet. And their number will increase with the strengthening of authority control over the content of the network. Tor is a type of network within the network with its social networks, torrent trackers, media, trading platforms, blogs, bookstores and so on.
not Evil
YaCy
YaCy is a decentralized search engine that works on the principle of P2P networks. Every computer on which the main software module is installed scans the Internet by itself, that is, it is an analogue of a search robot. The results are collected in a common database used by all YaCy members.
It is hard to say if this is better or worse since YaCy is a completely different approach to organizing research. The lack of a single server and a company owner makes the results completely independent of anyone’s preferences. The autonomy of each node excludes censorship. YaCy is able to search for deep and non-indexable public networks.
Because you need it
If you are a supporter of open source software and free Internet, which is not subject to the influence of government agencies and large corporations, then YaCy is your choice. It can also be used to organize the search within a corporate network or another autonomous network. And while YaCy is not very useful in everyday life, it is a valid alternative to Google in terms of the search process.
Pipl
Pipl – a system designed to search for information on a particular person.
The authors of Pipl argue that their specialized algorithms are searched for more efficiently than “ordinary” search engines. In particular, the priority information sources are profiles of social networks, comments, lists of participants and various databases in which information on people is published, for example, the decision bases of the courts. Pipl’s leadership in this sector is confirmed by Lifehacker.com, TechCrunch and other publications.
Because you need it
If you need to find information about a person living in the United States, Pipl will be much more efficient than Google.
FindSounds
FindSounds is another specialized search engine. Search in open sources for various sounds- home, nature, cars, people and so on.
In the issuance of only sounds and nothing more. In the settings, you can set the desired audio format and quality. All the sounds found are available for download. There is a search by sample.
Because you need it
If you need to quickly find the sound of a musket shot, the blows of a woodpecker or the cry of Homer Simpson, then this service is for you. Seriously, a specialized service involves a specialized audience. But what happens if you need it?
Wolfram | Alpha
Wolfram | Alpha – computational search engine. Instead of links to articles containing keywords, it provides a prompt response to the user’s request. For example, if you type “compare the population of New York and San Francisco” in the search form in English, Wolfram | Alpha will immediately show tables and graphs with a comparison.
This service is more suitable for finding facts and calculating data. Wolfram | Alpha accumulates and organizes the knowledge available on the Web from various fields, including science, culture, and entertainment. If this database contains a ready answer to a search query, the system displays it, otherwise calculates and displays the result. In this case, the user sees only the necessary information and nothing superfluous.
Because you need it
If you are, for example, a student, an analyst, a journalist or a researcher, you can use Wolfram | Alpha to find and calculate data about your business. The service does not include all requests but is constantly evolving and becoming more intelligent.
Dogpile
Metasearch Dogpile displays a combined list of results from search results from Google, Yahoo, and other popular systems.
First of all, Dogpile shows less publicity. Secondly, the service uses a special algorithm to find and show the best results from different search engines. According to the Dogpile developers, their systems are the most complete problem of the entire Internet.
Because you need it
If you can’t find the information in Google or another standard search engine, search multiple search engines simultaneously with Dogpile.
BoardReader
BoardReader is a text search system for forums, questions and answers, and other communities.
The service allows you to narrow the search field to social sites. Thanks to special filters, you can quickly find posts and comments that match your criteria- language, publication date, and site name.
Because you need it
BoardReader can be useful for PR and other media professionals who are interested in the opinion of a mass audience on certain issues.
Alternatives with more privacy
Many users pay attention to the high level of confidentiality. This is what DuckDuckGo, Ixquick, MetaGer search engines can provide.
MetaGer: the servers of this search engine are located in Germany and are subject to the German data protection legislation. The service offers the possibility to hide behind a proxy server when you visit a web page based on the search results.
Ixquick / Startpage: Ixquick and Startpage have come together to form “the most discreet search engine in the world”. As with MetaGer, here you can also anonymously open websites and hide your IP address.
In conclusion
If you look at the examples in the article, it is clear that such search engines specialize in a narrow but sought-after niche, which, perhaps only until now, has not grown enough to be visible on Google or Yandex radars.
For example, if Tor’s search suddenly becomes required, that is, the results will be useful for a good percentage of Google’s audience, then, of course, normal search engines will begin to solve the problem of how to find them and show them to the user.
