Compare Private Search Engines: DuckDuckGo vs. Startpage

DuckDuckGo

Established in 2008 by Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo has steadily increased in popularity among users seeking heightened privacy in their online searches.

This privacy-focused search engine has processed over 122 billion searches since its inception, reflecting a growing demand for more discreet online exploration.

Weinberg's initial vision for this search engine was to provide users with a private, less intrusive alternative to mainstream search engines. So, how exactly are they fairing? Let's take a look.

Search Result Quality

DuckDuckGo Search lets you search for images, maps, answers, etc. just as Google does. With one big difference... there’s no search history, letting you avoid the fate of the filter bubble and manipulated results.

Well, you could argue that those search results are manipulated...a little bit.

Back in March 2022, many DDG users were outraged when DDG announced that they were downranking misinformation results by Russian media concerning the invasion of Ukraine, viewing the move as censorship.

In an official statement, DDG said there was a difference between down-ranking and censorship. Perhaps. But, at the same time, the DuckDuckGo help page states that they don't evaluate websites in their rankings...

"Our search ranking is strictly non-political, meaning we don’t evaluate or otherwise take into account any potential political bias or leanings of websites in our search result rankings."

But isn't down-ranking essentially evaluating a website?

DuckDuckGo mostly relies on Microsoft's Bing for its search results and a few other indexing partners. It's pretty much on par with Google although you might find that the local search result quality is not quite as good.

User Experience

DuckDuckGo prides itself on offering a clean, uncluttered user interface, underscoring simplicity, privacy, and functionality.

Despite its minimalist appearance, users have the flexibility to personalize their experience by adjusting settings like theme, font size, auto-complete preferences, scrolling behavior, and language among others, ensuring enhanced readability and tailored navigation.

DDG enhances searches with the use of !Bangs.

Using the "!bang" command, users can search directly within specific websites or platforms. For example, "!w" for Wikipedia, "!g" for Google, or "!a" for Amazon. When you're searching for something very specific, these targeted searches can save time. The whole list of bangs can be found by typing "!bang" in DuckDuckGo.

Privacy Features

The distinguishing hallmark of DuckDuckGo lies in its inherent privacy features. Unlike many platforms where privacy feels like an add-on buried in complex settings, DuckDuckGo integrates privacy from the outset. There is no need to go looking for it by adjusting a bunch of hard-to-find settings. It's privacy out of the box.

It doesn't collect your IP address and when you perform a search, there is no personal information about you tied to it. The search queries will be logged but anonymously, and really only used to improve the search results and track trends instead of tracking you.

Advertisement & Revenue

DuckDuckGo teams up with Microsoft’s Ad network for ads on their search results page, but those ads don’t peek into your personal search habits. They're all about keeping ads on the down-low, tailored to what you’re looking at on the search results page rather than snooping into your individual details.

These ads are like friendly reminders, clearly labeled and not at all in-your-face. They’re just about the searched keywords and don’t play the tracking game to show up.

Something to keep in mind though, is that while DuckDuckGo respects your privacy, the sites these ads lead to might have their own tracking going on.

Jurisdiction

The officially named Duck Duck Go Inc. is based in the USA, which doesn't have the best track record when it comes to data protection and surveillance. The government has been known to spy on its citizens...just once or twice... (sense the sarcasm and read the E-Book: How the Government Hacks You).

The USA is also one part of the Five Eyes alliance. We're not saying that DDG actually has a government backdoor, but we're just saying it's a possibility.

Startpage

Startpage is a privacy-focused search engine founded in 2006 by David Bodnick. It was a sister company of a metasearch engine called "Ixquick" with which it was merged in 2016.

In 2018, Startpage was bought over by a private Dutch company Surfboard Holding BV led by CEO Robert E. G. Beens. In 2019, however, the ad tech company, System 1, acquired a majority stake in Startpage which raised a few privacy-concerned eyebrows.

Startpage declared that the investment would allow them to further expand their privacy features and reach new users. To quell any fears Beens published a letter discussing the investment in which he said,

"The investment from System1's Privacy One Group does not change our mission – to bring true search privacy to more people – it will help us to further it. To ensure this, the investment includes covenants that ensure complete control over all privacy-related decisions remains with Startpage and its management team."

So, that's the background. Let's see how StartPage stacks up.

Search Result Quality

When you fire off a search, StartPage taps into the power of major search engines (including Google), assesses the results from the top 10 search engines, and then prioritizes the results that appear in all 10. So you know you're getting the best possible results.

This type of 'proxy searchin' means Startpage acts as the middle-person between you and the mammoth search engines. When you ask Startpage for something, it scours the web on your behalf while shielding your identity from prying eyes, and then presents the results to you.

User Experience

Its clean and intuitive interface mirrors traditional search engines, ensuring a seamless transition for users seeking confidentiality without compromising on familiarity.

When a user enters a search query into Startage, the privacy search engine fetches the search results from Google on the user's behalf, acting as a privacy-friendly proxy.

You don't have to do anything special, the privacy is all taken care of for you. Making it easy to use and navigate.

Most of the basic features of Google are present, just without the nasty data-harvesting habit. For example, you can search for news, images and videos, directions with the mapping app, and filter by time, date, and language.

The user-friendly search bar and search engine appearance are customizable via the settings so users can tailor their search experience.

If you have kids at home and want to ensure their safety while they search online, you can also toggle the "safe search". This reduces the amount of "adult content" returned in search results.

Privacy Features

Startpage operates with only one cookie which is simply used for user preferences. All it stores is your basic settings and these are kept for 90 days. If you don't visit StartPage within those 90 days, those preferences will be deleted.

Your IP address, what you search for, where you came from, and what links you click – none of it gets logged. Even Edward Snowden gave Startpage a thumbs-up for its privacy game!

Startpage also has a feature called "Anonymous View". Just click on the mask icon next to any search result, and you're suddenly surfing incognito.

Every page you visit with this special mode gets wrapped in a cool blue border, letting you know you're in full stealth mode. In this mode, websites will only see a visit from Startpage, giving any pesky trackers and cookies the slip.

Advertisement & Revenue

Startpage has found a savvy balance between generating revenue and respecting user privacy, setting it apart from the likes of Google.

The ads you encounter during a search aren't the kind that peeks over your shoulder, but rather, they're tailored to the keywords you type in.

Picture this: you're searching for the best hiking boots, and voilà, you might spot ads showcasing sturdy footwear options right at the top of your results.

These ads, marked with a clear "ad" label, aren't playing detective with your personal info or browsing history. They're simply hitching a ride on your search terms, offering suggestions without nosing into your private space. It's like having a polite shop assistant suggest items without prying into your life story!

Jurisdiction

StartPage operates from the land of tulips and windmills—The Netherlands. Nestled in this jurisdiction, StartPage enjoys the shelter of GDPR—the Gandalf of privacy protections.

They do own and manage their own servers in, co-located facilities across the U.S. and beyond. But if you don't want to use State-side servers, you can opt for European-only so you can rest easy knowing that your searches are surfing through a network protected by some of the toughest privacy laws worldwide.

DuckDuckGo vs StartPage: The Verdict

DuckDuckGo and StartPage are both dedicated to safeguarding user privacy and ensuring a more secure browsing experience.

Each has its unique strengths: DuckDuckGo, with its emphasis on privacy from the get-go and a straightforward interface that prioritizes discretion, and StartPage, bridging the familiarity of traditional search engines with enhanced privacy features, notably its 'proxy searchin' technique.

Both search engines navigate the complex realm of user privacy while making strides in offering tailored, ad-relevant experiences without compromising personal data.

DuckDuckGo's collaboration with Microsoft's Ad network and Startpage's contextual ad approach highlight their commitment to respecting user boundaries.

Ultimately, the choice between these guardians of online privacy may hinge on nuanced preferences: DuckDuckGo's robust user-personalization options versus StartPage's seamless integration of Google's search results.

Startpage perhaps has the lead in jurisdiction, but then it does have an ad-tech agency behind the scenes.

Whichever path users choose, just be aware that private search engines can only go so far to protect your privacy. They can't save you from the fingerprinting scripts on the websites that you visit. It's recommended to combine privacy search engines with dedicated privacy tools like Hoody.

To experience true privacy and anonymity for the first time download Hoody today!