Startpage
Netherlands
Dutch search engine that shows Google results without the tracking or personalization.
European Alternative to:
A Dutch search engine based in Zeist, originally launched in 1998 as Ixquick and rebranded over the years. Startpage's pitch is simple: you get Google's results, stripped of the tracking, with the search itself proxied through Startpage so Google never sees your IP or your query history.
What you get
- Google-quality results without a Google session or behavioural profile
- Anonymous View, which lets you open any result through a Startpage proxy
- A clean image and video search, also proxied
- Choice between a US and an EU server location, which affects which jurisdiction logs touch
- A separate Startpage browser extension and privacy-focused email companion product
Where it sits
The legal entity is in the Netherlands, with operations there and in the US. Servers are in the EU and the US depending on the option you pick. Startpage was the first search engine to receive the European Privacy Seal back in 2008.
Honestly
In 2019 the US ad-tech company System1 took a stake in Startpage, which caused real concern in the privacy community. Startpage has said the data policy hasn't changed and that the Dutch privacy board oversees it. Whether that reassures you is a judgement call; the product itself still does what it says.
Germany
United Kingdom
France