The most popular alternatives to Google

The most well-known alternative to Google comes from Microsoft. Their search engine, Bing, comes in second place behind Google in terms of user numbers – albeit by a fairly large distance. In the US, only around 12% of internet users use the Microsoft search engine. Bing models itself on Google visually, mimicking the successful model with additional search functions optimized for images, videos, and news, as well as a maps service.

Microsoft Bing also has a function to rival Google’s Knowledge Graph, known as the Satori Knowledge base, which displays information published on Wikipedia in the SERPs (search engine result pages).

The beta version of Microsoft’s successor to Live Search was launched in 2009, and distinguished itself through close cooperation with social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. By integrating other services into its web search, along with an intricately designed image search, Bing can make a case for providing search engine innovation that goes beyond that of the market leader in certain areas. But if you’re searching for an anonymous search engine, you won’t find it from Microsoft. Bing collects user data just like Google does, in order to personalize its targeted advertising.

Like Google, Yahoo! is another well-known address in Silicon Valley. The web portal was one of the primary pioneers of the internet and has around 700 million users, chiefly through its webmail. But the search engine of this internet dinosaur, on the other hand, merits little consideration. Yahoo only represents around 8% of the market share in the US.

Since 2009, the search engine has been supported by an alliance with Microsoft. Anyone who enjoys the Bing experience won’t find any unpleasant surprises with Yahoo, whose common algorithm provides almost identical search results. Since a combined US market share of around 30% allows the search engine alliance of Microsoft and Yahoo to compete with Google, website operators should definitely keep this alternative search engine on their radar.

Representing an entirely different alternative to Google is DuckDuckGo. Operating under the slogan “The search engine that doesn’t track you”, the American firm DuckDuckGo Inc. offers a combination of both a metasearch engine and a private web crawler. In order to do this, the search provider relies on over 100 services such as Bing, Yandex, or Wikipedia, as well as the company’s own program DuckDuckBot.

Unlike Google, Bing, or Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo presents itself as a search engine with high data protection standards: According to the provider, neither IP addresses nor user searches are stored. Instead of targeted advertising, DuckDuckGo is based on the principle of “one ad per search result page”.

Alongside its basic web search, DuckDuckGo offers users the choice of searching for images, videos, news, and products. Users also have the option of filtering out commercial search results. To store settings once they’ve been made, information can be loaded anonymously into a cloud. This presents DuckDuckGo as a viable alternative for users wishing to protect their privacy by using an anonymous search engine.

Similar to DuckDuckGo, the Dutch search engine ixquick prides itself on anonymity and even goes one step further: With an integrated proxy service, ixquick users have the opportunity to anonymously access websites that are displayed in the search results. In this case, instead of the IP address of the user, the website operator only sees the address of ixquick.

To create search lists, the metasearch engine relies on Yahoo, Gigablast, and Yandex. The user knows which search results are found where via a star system: Each star stands for a source. A result marked with two stars means that it was supplied by two sources. ixquick supports image and video searches, and makes it possible to limit search results with advanced search functions.

Also just like DuckDuckGo, ixquick doesn’t collect any personal user data. The IP address linked with a search is also not saved. Although ixquick is a European company, it also operates some servers in the US. As a user, you can further secure your privacy by choosing which servers to use in the settings. The company was the first awarded with the European privacy seal of excellence, EuroPriSe.

In the meantime, ixquick mainly operates its daughter search engine Startpage. Access to ixquick domains are forwarded to startpage: Only ixquick.eu allows users to access the original search service. Startpage - originally founded to be a catchier name - constructs its search results differently.

The slogan “enhanced by Google” is revealing: startpage only accesses data from the market leader. Searches are always anonymous, though, and no cookies are applied. Despite the collaboration, startpage doesn’t deliver any user data to Google. In addition, the alternative search engine only accesses Google’s database - the order of the search results is determined by the service’s own algorithms. In terms of data protection, the search engine has the same standards as its parent program. startpage finances itself just like ixquick using non-targeted ads.

The rank of anonymous search engines is reinforced by Oscobo from Great Britain. Like other search services that promote high data protection standards, this provider also promises not to store or sell user data. The project was initiated by Robert Perin, Managing Director in BlackBerry, who wanted to offer users an alternative model to the classic search engine industry with Oscobo. The result is a search engine, specific to the United Kingdom, also renounces all user tracking. Instead of targeted advertisements, displays are catered exclusively to the terms entered in the search bar.

Unlike Qwant or Hulbee, Oscobo can’t provide its own search technology, instead accessing the search indexes of Bing and Yahoo. Oscobo also integrates results from Twitter into its search responses.

Hulbee is presented by a Swiss company as another search service with high data security standards. The anonymous search engine was developed under the name “Swisscows” and is based on the search principle of semantic information recognition. This means that the Swiss search engine takes a different path than most providers - in addition to the search results, Hulbee presents its users with a word cloud of thematically relevant terms and so makes research easier.

On top of web, image, and video searches, Hulbee also offers a translator and a music search with an integrated player. Unlike the market-leading search engines, the creators of Hulbee also rely on an integrated filter technology that blocks pornographic and violent content from the search results. The Google alternative is, therefore, well-suited to schools, offices, and public facilities.

To protect users’ privacy, Hulbee renounces any collection of user data. Personal information, IP addresses, or cookies that can be used to identify the user are not saved. Exactly like with other alternatives to Google, data security is taken very seriously and the site is only financed through non-targeted ads. Users are also encouraged to make donations.

The French search engine Qwant also emphasizes data protection and connects the user’s desire for more privacy with a new a design that stands out from other providers. The search results are based on their own technology, and arranged in table form according to topic. Users receive web searches, messages, shopping results, and social media posts for the chosen search term, all presented in individual columns. Everything is assembled in a single view - which can be a little confusing when compared to the tidy layout of Google.

Like DuckDuckGo and ixquick, Qwant boasts high data security standards. According to their information, neither user tracking nor a filter bubble are used. The search engine only uses temporary cookies, which don’t collect any information. Cookies for commercial means are blocked.

Just like Hulbee, this alternative to Google experiments with a music search. Among others, YouTube is accessed so that videos can be viewed directly in the search engine. The notebooks (or boards) are another neat feature: Like with Pinterest or comparable social networks, Qwant users can save interesting content and share it with other users. Registration is necessary for this.

The German search engine Wegtam is a Google alternative with an emphasis on content. There are four basic principles: Free access to knowledge, search for relevant information, reduction of commercial influences on web search, and anonymity. Wegtam uses a hybrid search to combine its own search index with various individually selectable external sources - including Google, Bing, and Yahoo, which are selected by default. If you want to manually adjust the source settings, you can access the pre-made profiles of “General”, “Science”, “Developer”, and “Food” with just one click. The sources of the search results are displayed under the snippet.

According to Wegtam, they save no personal information. To observe the server workload, application speeds, and traffic, the analysis programs New Relic and Piwik are used. Even though Wegtam speaks out against the commercialization of internet searches, the metasearch machine is financed through advertisements.

MetaGer is another metasearch engine from Germany, developed by the University of Hannover and operated in cooperation with the registered association SUMA-EV since 2012. Web searches on MetaGer are supported by its own index and 20 to 30 other search engines, which can be individually utilized by users to supplement additional sources.

MetaGer doesn’t only offer a large range of sources, it also boasts data security standards: The search engine doesn’t save cookies or browser fingerprints. IP addresses are already anonymized during the search and so aren’t passed on to the queried search engines. User tracking isn’t required. Users also have the opportunity to visit search results via an anonymous proxy. Since all MetaGer servers are located in Germany, all web searches are subject to German national data protection guidelines.

The German search machine is financed using advertising revenues (ads appear above the organic search results), donations, and club member dues. Members can use MetaGer ad-free. In addition to the web search, MetaGer also offers other useful features like the associator (which helps to find related search terms), a source search, a URL shortener, and a map service (though only available in Germany). As a user of MetaGer, though, you have to accept that it’s rather lacking in its design.

With YaCy, the user is also the operator. With its peer-to-peer approach, the project goes about its service in a completely different way than conventional search engines. Instead of running on a web server, the free search engine software runs directly on the user’s computer. This can connect with other YaCy users, resulting in a decentralized search network. Which sites the search engine has in its index is determined by the user: Each user can start their own web crawler and specify which sites it should access. The ranking is generated by increasing or decreasing user results. This means that the jointly operated search network is not censorable and can never be completely terminated.

It’s also not possible to record user data at a central location. Search queries are not transferred to a server, since the search engine is located on its own PC, meaning that all data remains there. The project is supported by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and - like MetaGer - by the SUMA-EV association for free access to information. The open source software is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

Yet another German search engine, Unbubble, looks to solve one of digital society’s problems by letting the filter bubble burst. To do this, the company has resolved to deliver the most neutral search results possible. The metasearch engine relies on 30 different sources to do this. The search engine’s algorithm also favors sources that provide the “most balanced overall impression”, according to Unbubble. Autocomplete and search suggestions are not generated from users’ search requests, which leads to the formation of filter bubbles, since users tend to search for the same information. Instead, the suggestions use the content of the websites.

It has also established itself as an anonymous search engine: The service doesn’t save IP addresses and doesn’t transmit them to the used sources. Unbubble also offers a child filter with three possible settings (Strong/Moderate/Off). The website is financed via sponsoring and affiliate links as well as donations.

The search engine WolframAlpha follows an entirely different approach than other Google algorithms. Instead of offering users the best web content, the search engine tries to simply deliver direct facts. This also means that users can only enter factual queries. The semantic search engine can’t present any opinions. The alternative search engine just supplies a lot of data. If a user is interested in sources, they can find them with an additional click.

In the premium version, users can also upload photos and other files and analyze them with the search engine. The service is only available in English and is primarily aimed at scientists and students, though Bing and Apple’s language assistant Siri also use results from WolframAlpha. The US company Wolfram Research, which primarily manufactures software for mathematics and natural sciences, is behind the project.

Comparing the various alternatives to Google, it quickly becomes apparent that data security plays an important role for many of them. This is quite understandable, however: the privacy of users is the only area where a non-specialized search engine can really score points against Google, after all.  Apart from a few exceptions, the alternative search engines are based on the design and functionality of the market leader from Mountain View.