For several years I’ve been using DuckDuckGo instead of Google Search, and I’ve been overall quite happy with the results. Only rarely had I to resort to Google search (!g).
During the last month or two, however, I’ve found myself using the !g switch and Google search more than half of the time. DuckDuckGo shows no or few results where Google shows more (and useful) ones.
Still I don’t want to give in. So:
- Have you also experienced this worsening of DuckDuckGo?
- Which other more privacy-respecting alternatives do you recommend?
I have thought the same thing after about three years or so of using DDG, I’ve been using Qwant as of late and seem to get much better results
I’ll give Qwant too a try, cheers! Testing SearXNG for a couple of days first.
I wish you luck with SearXNG, I don’t know if I used the wrong instances or what but I didn’t find the results i got that great. However that is the reason people say you should host you own instance. Hopefully it works out I really enjoy the idea of hosting my own instance
Same, I was a DDG user for years and switched to Qwant a month ago. Qwant results are a step up from DDG, and Qwant takes the same approach to privacy as DDG but it’s based in France so it wins in that regard as well. I’m in the US and Qwant still does a great job of providing localized results.
I have been very happy with Kagi. I think that it is worth the money. I did quit it though, in line with the US boycott, so now i am on Quant.
Also very happy using Kagi.
@Tiger @cosmicrookie Also happy using Kagi.
Kagi is so much better than any other search engine I used in years. In fact, it’s too good because I don’t see myself quitting it soon, even though I’d really prefer not using American services right now.
Kagi has been very nice for me as well. The lack of clutter and junk plus wealth of search features makes it well worth the price for me.
I’ve noticed this is the case but not that it’s declining. I haven’t used it that long.
Admittedly it could be a temporary fluctuation of some kind.
How is it for porn?
I’ve definitely felt the enshittification of DDG. A couple of years ago they would start dropping hits related to my location into my search results, even when I had region off and private search by default. That gave me the impression that my IP address was being used and possibly passed on to Bing, but I don’t have the chops to confirm it 🤷
Try www.nogoo.me
At some point, DuckDuckGo stop handling boolean logic properly in search terms. I’ve been using it for more than a decade, and the quality has definitely gotten worse over the last few years
I use StartPage because it’s the closest to Google 10+ years ago.
True about the good old-Google feeling! I want to find how much about of the shadiness claims about Startpage have been substantiated or denied.
I run my own instance of SearX. Very reliable.
Just setup my own instance! Happy so far!
DuckDuckGo/Bing is pretty bad at finding stuff in my native language. That’s why I use Startpage (and sometimes even Google) more nowadays.
you can search through brave or google using mullvads leta:
I use it all the time, just wish they had an image search tab. That’s the only thing I switch search engines for now.
Been happy with Kagi for the past few months. So far no thoughts of switching back to either Google or DDG.
I’ve tried other search engines any times. Despite the worsening google search somehow is still much better than alternatives.
Startpage uses Google’s results, similar to like DDG uses Bing’s, I find to be splendid replacement for spying engine.
I think in the last few years DDG has been improving and google has been worsening for general searching. Because I have nearly stopped using
!gbefore I used it constantly.I still use google at work as the results there match a bit better.
