Popular search engines and browsers do a great job at finding and browsing content on the web, but can do a better job at protecting your privacy while doing so.

Startpage started as a sister company of Ixquick, which was founded in 1998. According to Mozilla, Firefox Focus blocks a wide range of online trackers, erases your history, passwords, cookies.

Data security and privacy are very vital for any business owner and even individuals. You can use private browsing with the help of the incognito modes in Chrome or Firefox. However, it does not offer the level of privacy you think you will get. You should opt for a private search engine. Firefox is the most widely used Web Browser next to Google Chrome. People normally prefer Firefox for browsing the Internet, and that also includes buddies who are visually challenged. Fortunately Firefox developers and other people developed Add-ons which helps them to access the web more properly and comfortably. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. When you search with Ixquick search engine, you are searching many popular search engines simultaneously and anonymously. Combined, these engines cover more of the Internet than any one search engine alone. An Ixquick result is awarded one star for every search.

With your data being the digital currency of our times, websites, advertisers, browsers, and search engines track your behavior on the web to deliver tailored advertising, improve their algorithms, or improve their services.

In this guide, we list the best search engines and browsers to protect your privacy while using the web.

Privacy-focused search engines

Below are the best privacy-focused search engines that do not track your searchers or display advertisements based on your cookies or interests.

DuckDuckGo

The first privacy-focused search engine, and probably the most recognizable, we spotlight is DuckDuckGo.

Founded in 2008, DuckDuckGo is popular among users who are concerned about privacy online, and the privacy-friendly search engine recently said it had seen 2 billion total searches.

With DuckDuckGo, you can search for your questions and websites online anonymously.

DuckDuckGo does not compile entire profiles of user's search habits and behavior, and it also does not collect personal information.

DuckDuckGo is offered as a search engine option in all popular browsers.

In 2017, Brave added DuckDuckGo as a default search engine option when you use the browser on mobile or desktop. In Brave browser, your search results are powered by DuckDuckGo when you enter the private tabs (incognito).

Last year, Google also added DuckDuckGo to their list of search engines on Android and platforms. With iOS 14, Apple is now also allowing users to use DuckDuckGo as their preferred search engine.

Startpage

Unlike DuckDuckGo, Startpage is not crawling the internet to generate unique results, but instead, it allows users to obtain Google Search results while protecting their data.

Startpage started as a sister company of Ixquick, which was founded in 1998. In 2016, both websites were merged and Startpage owners received a significant investment from Privacy One Group last year.

This search engine also generates its income from advertising, but these ads are anonymously generated solely based on the search term you entered. Your information is not stored online or shared with other companies, such as Google.

Startpage also comes with one interesting feature called 'Annonymous View' that allows you to view links anonymously.

When you use this feature, Startpage renders the website in its container and the website won't be able to track you because it will see Startpage as the visitor.

Ecosia

The next search engine in our list is Ecosia.

Unlike any other search engines, Ecosia is a CO2-neutral search engine and it uses the revenue generated to plant trees. Ecosia's search results are provided by Bing and enhanced by the company's own algorithms.

Ecosia was first launched on 7 December 2009 and the company has donated most of its profits to plant trees across the world.

Ecosia says they're a privacy-friendly search engine and your searches are encrypted, which means the data is not stored permanently and sold to third-party advertisers.

List of privacy-friendly browsers:

Web browser developers have taken existing browser platforms such as Chrome and Firefox, and modified them to include more privacy-focuses features that protect your data while browsing the web.

Brave Browser

Brave is one of the fastest browser that is solely focused on privacy with features like private browsing, data saver, ad-free experience, bookmarks sync, tracking protections, HTTPs everywhere, and more.

Memory usage by Brave is far below Google Chrome and the browser is also available for both mobile and desktop.

You can download Brave from here.

Tor Browser

The Tor Browser is another browser that aims to protect your data, including your IP address, as you browse the web.

When browsing the web with Tor, your connections to web sites will be anonymous as your request will be routed through other computers and your real IP address is not shared.

In addition, Tor bundles comes with the NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere extensions preinstalled, and clears your HTTP cookies on exit, to further protect your privacy.

You can download Tor browser from here.

Firefox Focus

Firefox Focus is also a great option if you use Android or iOS.

According to Mozilla, Firefox Focus blocks a wide range of online trackers, erases your history, passwords, cookies, and comes with a user-friendly interface.

Firefox Focus also comes with built-in ad blocker to improve your experience and block all trackers, including those operated by Google and Facebook.

You can download Firefox Focus from the App Store and Play Store.

Product/Version

Ixquick (https://www.ixquick.com)

Startpage (https://www.startpage.com)

Function of Ixquick and Startpage as provided in June 2015

Qualification: IT-based services

Cert. No.

EP-S-LNX9Z0

Validity

30/06/2015 - 30/06/2017

Recertification 1 on March 15, 2013

Initial certification on February 09, 2011

Monitoring

02/2016

08/2016

Public Monitoring

Manufacturer/Provider

Surfboard Holding B.V.
KVK: Utrecht, 34111280

BEST

Data minimization

ATTENTION:

Ixquick Suchmaschine Firefox

Not applicable

Summary

Surfboard Holding B.V. runs a meta-search engine which allows users to search the Internet for web pages, images and videos, therefore making use of multiple third party search engines. Furthermore, the service provides users with a proxy to view the found web pages anonymously. The service is provided under two different names: Ixquick and Startpage. Both versions of the service use the same IT-systems, but a different look and feel.

Details

Recertification 05/2015

The main changes since the last recertification in 2013 are listed below:

• A feature was added to search other databases (for example to retrieve information about flights, parcels or maps of locations);
• Yandex Safe Browsing API is used by the Proxy to protect users from pages that are listed as malicious;
• The Google Spain v. AEPD case ('right to be forgotten') and the respective guidelines of the Article 29 Working Party have been implemented;
• A data export and data import agreement (Commisson Decision 35 C(2010)593) was duly signed by Surfboard Holding B.V., WebINTENSIVE Software LLC and its Indian subsidiary; WebINTENSIVE, having its registered office in New York, develops software for Ixquick/Startpage, and does monitoring and maintenance work.

The 2015 recertification confirmed that Ixquick and Startpage still meet all applicable EuroPriSe criteria. More detailed information is provided in the Short Public Report (a hyperlink to this report is provided above).

Recertification 03/2013

Ixquick Firefox Free

In the past, the meta-search engine was provided under three different names: Ixquick, Startpage and Startingpage. Meanwhile, Surfboard Holding cancelled offering the service under the name Startingpage. If an Internet user calls the website http(s)://www.startingpage.com, s/he is redirected to http(s)://www.startpage.com.

The difference between Ixquick and Startpage is that Ixquick makes use of the search results from a multitude of search engines whereas Startpage relies on the results from one search engine; both, without forwarding personal data.

Since certification in 2011, the service has been further improved from a data minimisation point of view: Ixquick and Startpage do not store any information on user agents and operating systems of their users any more. The privacy policies of the services have been amended in May 2012 to reflect this change.

Ixquick and Startpage are currently provided on the following URLs:

Initial Certification 02/2011

The ToE is the meta-search engine provided by Surfboard Holding B.V. via Ixquick.com, Startpage.com and Startingpage.com.
It includes

• web search functionality
• picture search functionality
• video search functionality
• proxy functionality
• caching of web site contents, images and videos
• interfaces to third parties

The ToE does not include

• phone search functionality
• third party search engines
• third party web sites
• hardware and software of users
• recommendation functionality ('Share' - Startingpage only)

Web search by means of Ixquick, Startpage and Startingpage makes use of several data minimization and encryption (hashing) techniques:
Firstly, search terms and IP addresses are not stored in log files. All other types of information (e.g., language and web browser category) do not qualify as personal data. Nevertheless, they are deleted after 14 days.
Secondly, the involved third parties (search engine providers and advertisement partner) do not receive information allowing them to identify the users of the Ixquick service. This applies to third party web site providers as well, if users employ the proxy functionality of the Ixquick service.
Thirdly, Ixquick caches images, videos and web pages for proxy requests for the purpose of technical availabilty. After a period of one hour, the cache content is automatically deleted.
Finally, Ixquick servers have been configured to handle HTTP requests over secure and encrypted Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections and Ixquick makes use of the so-called POST method (instead of the GET method) to keep search terms out of the logs of webmasters of sites that users reach from Ixquick's result pages.

Technical Evaluator

Frank van Vliet
Certified Secure B.V.
Loire 128-A
2491 AJ The Hague
The Netherlands
(frank.vanvliet@certifiedsecure.nl)

Legal Evaluator

John Borking
Borking Consultancy
Lange Kerkdam 27
2242 BN Wassenaar
The Netherlands
(jborking@xs4all.nl)

Formerly Certified Versions

Ixquick(tm) meta-search engine

Web Search

Function as provided on
06/23/2008 for Initial Certification
01/27/2009 for Recertification