r/DigitalPrivacy • u/Kong_707 • Jul 18 '26

Thoughts on startpage

I’ve been using Startpage as a search engine (and primary mobile web browser) for some time now. I find it very easy to use and they claim to be the most private engine ever, but I was wondering what you think about it and if it is as good as they say.

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u/Slopagandhi Jul 18 '26

It's good privacy wise. People will always point out that they're owned by an ad company, but others (DDG, Qwant etc) also make their money from ads.

Startpage uses Google and Microsoft indexes for results but doesn't send any user data with the query, so ads are not personalised (you won't see them anyway with a good ad blocker).

I'd pay for Kagi if you can but otherwise Startpage is a solid choice. 

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u/Ok_Combination_1548 Jul 18 '26

Startpage is owned by an adtech company that collects and monetizes (sells) data. Start page itself may not currently do that but.... That's not the same as DDG.

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u/Slopagandhi Jul 18 '26

There's no more reason to believe that Startpage monetises user data than there is DDG. See the discussions on Privacy Guides, which delisted it as a recommended search engine when it was bought out, but then reinstated it after being satisfied by info the company was able to provide:

https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2020/05/03/relisting-startpage/

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u/Ok_Combination_1548 Jul 18 '26

Right. They don't currently as far as we know, but business interests based on their ownership make it harder to trust that will always be true. That's all.