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FuckFuckNo. 🤦‍♀️

I just want a search engine that works. I have zero need for a godawful "AI" hallucinating mansplainer in my results. Just… no.

Time to move off of DDG. What else is out there?

Edit: yes, it seems to be for real:
https://www.reddit.com/r/duckduckgo/comments/1adxgy4/give_duckduckgo_ai_chat_a_spin/

#DuckDuckGo #AI

DuckDuckGo announcing their "AI chat". Text: Say ehllow to DuckuckGo AI Chat DuckDuckGo AI Chat is a private AI-powered chat service that currently supports OpenAI's ChatGPT API and Anthropic's Claude chat models.
#AI #duckduckgo
This entry was edited (6 months ago)

reshared this

⚞ Alexia ⚟
⚞ Alexia ⚟  
•

@Mojeek is often my go-to, but many people dislike it due to how different the search results are.

You may be interested in aggregating results using SearxNG, maybe? https://searx.space


SearXNG instances

Online and offline instances
searx.space
@Mojeek
Sam
Sam  
•
I'll throw in another vote for SearxNG. Been using it as my default for a bit now and am usually happy with the results. StartPage used to be my default now I only use it as a backup option.
This entry was edited (6 months ago)
MarkAssPandi
MarkAssPandi  
•
I use @Mojeek but sadly some results for me are bit underwhelming, then I switch to qwant which I find ok but they did have some sketchy things going on.
@Mojeek
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@MarkAssPandi can you expand on the sketchy Qwant things please?
@MarkAssPandi
matt at oslo dot town
matt at oslo dot town  
•

@katzenberger @MarkAssPandi All search engines make money from advertising. You just expect them to be 100% free to use and ad-free and cover their expenses how?

I don't think its unreasonable for Qwant to ask to show you ads, especially if they are implemented in a privacy-preserving non-tracking way. The alternative would be to pay a subscription for Qwant.

Elsewhere, Mojeek is nice, but they also introduced AI recently.

https://blog.mojeek.com/2024/04/mojeek-search-summary.html


Mojeek Search Summaries

If you take from the web, you should give back. Search engines like Google, Bing and...
blog.mojeek.com
@katzenberger @MarkAssPandi
MarkAssPandi
MarkAssPandi  
•
It would be nice to have paid service like Kagi but without AI and their take on brave ngl
matt at oslo dot town
matt at oslo dot town  
•

Someone should update the comparison table on Wikipedia to help people find a good search engine.

🔴 Google = AI / Ads / Tracking
🔴 Bing = AI / Ads / Tracking
🔴 Brave = Cryptocurrency / AI / Anti-LGBT*
🟠 DuckDuckGo = Ads / AI
🟠 Kagi = AI
🟠 Mojeek = Ads / AI
🟠 You.com = Ads / AI
🟡 Qwant = Ads
🟡 Startpage = Ads
🟡 Searx = Complicated
🟢 ???

* Brave CEO has previously financially supported anti-gay marriage law campaigns

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines

Wikimedia list article

Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)
This entry was edited (6 months ago)

Jay Hannah reshared this.

Liminal witch 🧙‍♀️ Sarah
Liminal witch 🧙‍♀️ Sarah  
•

@matt @MarkAssPandi @katzenberger @svenja One thing I'm missing is a search engine that offers subscription.

I don't like subscriptions that much but for a search engine I think it's the most viable model if we want to avoid Ads and tracking. Someone has to pay to keep the lights on.

@matt at oslo dot town @katzenberger @Svenja @MarkAssPandi
Dragonjion :therian:
Dragonjion :therian:  
•
I can't seem to find anything about a paid subscription on Mojeek's site. Can you point me to where you found info about that?
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@njion hummm I could swear I saw that somewhere, but this has been a hectic thread. Cannot find the source now. Will try to delve a bit more. Weird.
@Dragonjion :therian:
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@njion might have been confused by this:
https://www.mojeek.com/services/search/web-search-api/#pricing
https://www.mojeek.com/services/search/site-search-api/#pricing

Mojeek Search API

Mojeek provides businesses with site search features, web search api, hosted/managed search solutions and software licensing agreements.
www.mojeek.com
@Dragonjion :therian:
phi1997
phi1997  
•
Where has Mojeek said they're doing AI? I can't find anything about it in their newsletter archives.
Edit: I made this post before I learned Mojeek had added AI summarization. I am disappointed in them.
@MarkAssPandi @rysiek @katzenberger
@katzenberger @Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦 @MarkAssPandi
This entry was edited (5 months ago)
matt at oslo dot town
matt at oslo dot town  
•

@phi1997 @MarkAssPandi @katzenberger Linked up in the thread ☝️ but also here for your convenience 👇

https://blog.mojeek.com/2024/04/mojeek-search-summary.html


Mojeek Search Summaries

If you take from the web, you should give back. Search engines like Google, Bing and...
blog.mojeek.com
@katzenberger @phi1997 @MarkAssPandi
phi1997
phi1997  
•
@silverwizard
I had not seen that yet when I made that post.
@silverwizard
Jeremy Yap
Jeremy Yap  
•

@matt @katzenberger @MarkAssPandi

For what it's worth, if we have to do the "lesser evils" thing, I don't see how dropping Mojeek (which has its own index) due to LLM in favor of what will almost inevitably be something using Google or Bing's index is a net positive.

Really the next step is to consider smaller independent indexes (Stract, Right Dao, Alexandria, Yep, etc.) but it seems most folks consider those not usable yet. (personally I disagree, but that's its own can of worms).

@matt at oslo dot town @katzenberger @MarkAssPandi
This entry was edited (6 months ago)
matt at oslo dot town
matt at oslo dot town  
•

@jeruyyap Yuppp. I’ve personally been quite happy with Mojeek and considering I’m making AI shit at work it would be very hypocritical of me to stop using them for that.

I’m just trying to state facts, and not lump my personal opinion in here. 🙂

@Jeremy Yap
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@matt @jeruyyap yeah, I am now considering @Mojeek but I am very wary of moving to another search engine that is buying into the AI hype train. Sigh.
@Mojeek @matt at oslo dot town @Jeremy Yap
Jeremy Yap
Jeremy Yap  
•

@matt @Mojeek

If you're interested in other options then @Seirdy did an excellent piece on the topic that pretty much covers what's out there for now:
https://seirdy.one/posts/2021/03/10/search-engines-with-own-indexes/


A look at search engines with their own indexes

A cursory review of all the non-metasearch, indexing search engines I have been able to find.
Seirdy’s Home
@Mojeek @matt at oslo dot town @Seirdy
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
Is that confirmed ? I can't see it anywhere on the website, is that only on smartphones or something ? I'd hate to have to find a replacement now, but if they start encouraging that shit, I'm leaving right away.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@alice seems so:
https://www.reddit.com/r/duckduckgo/comments/1adxgy4/give_duckduckgo_ai_chat_a_spin/

For now it's only available in the DDG browser it seems.

@Es(tiss)val 🌻

Es(tiss)val 🌻 reshared this.

Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
…and I'm out. Looks like I don't have a search engine anymore. Thank you for the confirmation.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@alice sorry to be the bearer of bad news :sadcat1:
@Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
hehe better that than hiding them away. Thank you for that.
Emmanuel Revah
Emmanuel Revah  
•
Perhaps give startpage a try? (Or is there something dodgy about them I don't know about?)
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
Ok, why not, I don't know anything about that one. Would you happen to know how they provide suggestions ? I just gave seerX a try and the settings menu seems to imply search suggestions come from google by default ?!
Emmanuel Revah
Emmanuel Revah  
•

I'm not sure how suggestions work.
Startpage is basically a anonymisation proxy to Google search. It gives good results, but it doesn't solve the centrality of Googles point of view of the web.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startpage.com


Internet search engine

Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
I see… I also note it's got a lot of sponsored results in the top results. Thanks for mentioning that alternative though. I do use invidious when I need to watch a youtube video so it's not that different (even though it's far from being satisfactory). @rysiek
@Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
gnu/m43
gnu/m43  
•
I get it in firefox
DDG search for "a". There is a chat button on the right next to the settings

reshared this

Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
You're right 😳 How could I've missed that ? It's there, I just never bother to read all the noise around what I'm interested in. Obviously I should pay more attention. Thank you.
Mina
Mina  
•
@Mae @alice time to adblock that button
@Es(tiss)val 🌻 @gnu/m43
Eh?!?
Eh?!?  
•
Is that the app or the browser version? I use the second and have a totally different look.
Also, is it limited to some geographic areas?
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•
I had understood it was the browser for @Mae but regardless of that I use the browser I and I get it too. I'm from France if that matters.
A screenshot from DDG's search showing a "Chat" button near the one for settings.
@gnu/m43
Cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus  
•
KAGI might be useful. See @jasonkoebler 's recent review: https://mastodon.social/@jasonkoebler/112207606932971467
@Jason Koebler
This entry was edited (6 months ago)
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@cumulonimbus Kagi had the Brave kerfuffle:
https://kagifeedback.org/d/2808-reconsider-your-partnership-with-brave

Kagi's main developer's responses in the thread were… underwhelming to say the least.

Reconsider your partnership with Brave - Kagi Feedback

Brave, as you know, is led by Brendan Eich. s homophobia is so disgusting that he was forced to resign as the leader...
kagifeedback.org
@Cumulonimbus
Jana
Jana  
•
Huh. This is for real? I thought this was an April fools joke…
Emmanuel Revah
Emmanuel Revah  
•
I've been using startpage for years.
The Privacy Advocate (dt.gl)
The Privacy Advocate (dt.gl)  
•
and it's partnered with Leo from Brave? Horror
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@Decentralize wait, who's partnered with Leo from Brave?

And who's "Leo from Brave"?

@The Privacy Advocate (dt.gl)
The Privacy Advocate (dt.gl)
The Privacy Advocate (dt.gl)  
•
leo is the Ai of Brave Brower, and someone earlier posted they partnered with duckduckgo. So it's not confirmed, but everything Ai doesn't need to be on my browser anyway
pa27
pa27  
•
It's just a desktop browser option to use a bot. Don't use it if you don't want to? It doesn't say it's related to search results, in the reddit link.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@pa27 well it seems that there is some LLM shenanigans going on in the search results as well:
https://mstdn.social/@xarvos@outerheaven.club/111126323556614433

🚲 (@xarvos@outerheaven.club)

once again encountered duckduckgo faking the content of the site: https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dark_(type) https://pokemondb.net/type/dark you won't find the paragraph it shows in th...
mstdn.social
@pa27
pa27
pa27  
•
Hmm.. Well that's crappy then. Having said that, I just tried a quick search and can't reproduce that result. Maybe different search terms. All the search engines are getting crappy one way or another. Back to books maybe!!!
Eric the Cerise
Eric the Cerise  
•

Still early days, but I'm liking #Stract ... a new stand-alone search engine being developed by one person and (last I heard) run on a server in his basement.

#404Media also just published an article extolling a paid SE called #Kagi ... not sure I'm "there" yet (paying for search), but it sounds promising.

#Kagi #404media #stract
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@ErictheCerise I actually want to pay for search, as that's the only way the incentives align correctly for the search provider in this late stage capitalist dystopia, but Kagi had their… Brave moment and also implement AI crap:
https://neilzone.co.uk/2024/01/from-kagi-back-to-duckduckgo/
https://help.kagi.com/kagi/ai/assistant.html

Assistant | Kagi's Docs

Kagi Search Help
help.kagi.com
@Eric the Cerise
Bèr Kessels 🐝 🚐 🏄 🌱
Bèr Kessels 🐝 🚐 🏄 🌱  
•

How do you know it will be a "hallucinating mansplainer in my results" ?

Why do you think it will?

Jumping to conclusions and then getting angry at those conclusions is not a very good way to get through life....

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@berkes I'm doing fine with going through life, thanks. And anything that touches ChatGPT or any other LLM in the context of a search product to me is super sus.

There's ample evidence of LLM chatbots providing completely made up results. I am not going to wait until DDG decides it's "good enough" and integrates it more into their stuff.

@Bèr Kessels 🐝 🚐 🏄 🌱
‼️RedAlert‼️(Michael) :antifa:
‼️RedAlert‼️(Michael) :antifa:  
•
Search Engine that works, private and anonym? No Problem, enjoy:
https://swisscows.com/de

Deine private und anonyme Suchmaschine Swisscows

Bei unserer anonymen Suchmaschine Swisscows findest du die absolute Sicherheit. Kein Tracking ✓ Anonym suchen ✓ Familienfreundlich ✓ | swisscows.com
swisscows.com
qeef
qeef  
•
https://www.startpage.com/

Startpage - Private Search Engine. No Tracking. No Search History.

Search and browse the internet without being tracked or targeted. Startpage is the world's most private search engine. Use Startpage to protect your personal data.
www.startpage.com
Eatsbluecrayon
Eatsbluecrayon  
•
Nooo, not DuckDuckGo, too!
Daniel
Daniel  
•

Why not continue to use DDG but simply don't use the optional experimental functionality there?

This would give them valuable feedback for what percentage of their user base is interested in this technology.

From what I can see it's optional and an experiment, nothing they force on everyone?

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@djh the fact that they even consider investing time and effort into this is a huge red flag for me. I am not going to wait until that red flag materializes as something even worse.
@Daniel
Jon Yoder
Jon Yoder  
•
StartPage is pretty good
ThomasToSpace
ThomasToSpace  
•
I use Kagi, it's paid (so no ads or user tracking needed). It has optional AI, but it's based on sources (and it will mention those, like Wikipedia does).
Ville Ruohonen :debian:
Ville Ruohonen :debian:  
•

@MetaGer For me Metager has been pretty solid

https://metager.org

MetaGer: Privacy Protected Search & Find

Search safely while having your privacy respected. The digital knowledge of the world must be freely accessible without paternalism and abide by states or corporations.
metager.org
@MetaGer
kjuh :antifa:🇺🇦🇪🇺🇩🇪😷
kjuh :antifa:🇺🇦🇪🇺🇩🇪😷  
•
https://eu.startpage.com/

Startpage - Private Search Engine. No Tracking. No Search History.

Search and browse the internet without being tracked or targeted. Startpage is the world's most private search engine. Use Startpage to protect your personal data.
www.startpage.com
Jill ☁
Jill ☁  
•

it really sucks! Even #Ecosia has an AI chat now. 🤮​

@ Those responsible for these engines, at least let us choose and give us the possibility to deactivate this crap, please. 🙏​

#ecosia
jade pixel
jade pixel  
•
@GossiTheDog What do you use instead? I’ve been using DDG for years and looking for something new now.
@Kevin Beaumont
Jeremy Yap
Jeremy Yap  
•

I feel the question of "what else is there" depends on what you're actually looking for.

If you're just looking to use a large index while minimizing the data you're sending back, then DuckDuckGo still works for that. DuckDuckGo and Qwant use Bing's index, while Startpage uses Google's index, and any of those would work for that purpose.

If you're looking for a independent index for general use, Mojeek probably has the largest index that is not Google, Bing, or Yandex.

Jeremy Yap
Jeremy Yap  
•

Now if you're trying to avoid search engines that are into LLMs, then your options are going to depend on whether the index provider matters.

If only the service you are directly using matters, then you have plenty of options as there's seemingly endless search engines using Google or Bing (especially Bing).

If where the index comes from matters then you're pretty much out of large mainstream indexes and into small independent ones and a major change in search habits.

This entry was edited (6 months ago)
Jo Dusepo :oud: جوهانا دوسپو
Jo Dusepo :oud: جوهانا دوسپو  
•
I love your description of 'AI' as a hallucinating mansplainer! Perfect :D .
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@dusepo can't claim credit for that, sadly. Been floating around the Zeitgeist for a while. :blobcatcoffee:
@Jo Dusepo :oud: جوهانا دوسپو
noodlejetski :verified_gay:
noodlejetski :verified_gay:  
•
goddammit, just when their results started being decent enough for me to not use !g or !s as a crutch! JUST LET ME FIND THINGS FFS
Oliwier Jaszczyszyn
Oliwier Jaszczyszyn  
•

SearXNG instance.

Edit: corrected the domain

This entry was edited (6 months ago)
Penguinflight
Penguinflight  
•
Horribly disappointing. Wonder where the money was deposited..?
Simon Hobeck
Simon Hobeck  
•
i don't think its too bad that you should be jumping ship just yet.
The reddit post by DDG says it is just an addon for its browser and aiming for a freemium model.
It does not affects its search results and it allow speople to experiement with LLM whilst still respcting privacy.
I will continue to use DDG so long as their search results are not infected by AI noise.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@Shobeck it's a huge red flag to me and I am not waiting to see where it leads if I can avoid it.
@Simon Hobeck
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@MotionToExtendDebate it's a huge red flag that they even consider implementing stuff like that.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•
@GossiTheDog yeah, I'm aware. I would much prefer a search engine with decent results that is supported by paying customers.
@Kevin Beaumont
Ornaled
Ornaled  
•
What about Mojeek or Kagi (although the latter has some AI elements) @GossiTheDog
@Kevin Beaumont
TayFoNay ☕️ :bc:
TayFoNay ☕️ :bc:  
•
I use StartPage in Firefox with an ad blocker plugin and it works quite well
jim
jim  
•
you could build your own.
silverwizard
silverwizard  
I don't even know where to go 😥 I'm so tired on the topic of AI @Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
@Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Bob Jonkman
Bob Jonkman  
•

@silverwizard

I've been using either @Mojeek or #StartPage on my browsers. Over the last two years of using #Mojeek it has become noticeably better, but not so much for StartPage...

#startpage #mojeek @Mojeek @silverwizard
Mojeek
Mojeek  
•
@silverwizard @bobjonkman if you are able to send that into us with the submit feedback button then we can take a look.
@Bob Jonkman @silverwizard
Mojeek
Mojeek  
•
@silverwizard @bobjonkman this is something you can get rid of in settings: https://www.mojeek.com/preferences

Search Settings - Mojeek

Change your search settings and location
www.mojeek.com
@Bob Jonkman @silverwizard
Jay
Jay  
•
I’ve been getting a bit wary of DDG ever since I heard ads for it on the radio, about a year ago. This just confirms that concern…
Jeltron
Jeltron  
•
It's too big of an opportunity to pass up when you can basically steal the whole internet
Alfred R. Baudisch
Alfred R. Baudisch  
•
DDG: disappointment of the decade. Digging their own graves, lol.
Es(tiss)val 🌻
Es(tiss)val 🌻  
•

That would indeed be enough not to trust them anymore but it's there on the website from Icecat/Firefox too (see previous posts).

#FuckFuckNo

#fuckfuckno
1st Amendment Abuser
1st Amendment Abuser  
•
I'd be down and like it a lot if they used an open-source uncensored AI for t5his, not the MS's garbage. Well, we'll wait and see how they're gonna deal with the backlash from the community
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@1stAmendmentAbuser can you point me to an "open-source, uncensored AI" that is a model of the size needed for this kind of tasks, please?

Llama does not count, it's been trained at Facebook and nobody really knows what went into the training data.

@1st Amendment Abuser
1st Amendment Abuser
1st Amendment Abuser  
•
Mmm, no. You seem to not know what you're talking about so I'm not gonna bother with a person who just becomes aggressive out of nowhere. Pls don't reply.
RolingMetal
RolingMetal  
•

Recently I started using Ecosia, and it's not bad :)
It uses results from Bing.
But I believe you can also get results from Google, if you want to give up some more privacy.
And apparently, I planted 3 trees already :)

For Google like search results, I'll use Startpage. And for result not coming from big-tech, I like to use Brave search.

This entry was edited (6 months ago)
Danie van der Merwe
Danie van der Merwe  
•
if they'd just called it a search "summary" no-one would have worried ;-)
lj·rk
lj·rk  
•
+1 for stract, it's quite neat. That, plus searXNG and MetaGer are the ones I'm hopeful for.
FoolishOwl
FoolishOwl  
•

@cyrus @firn SearXNG is a proxy that searches and collates results from several search engines. It's useful, but it's not a search engine per se, and dependent upon them.

There are some open feature requests to add ChatGPT to SearXNG, e.g.,

https://github.com/searxng/searxng/issues/2008


Add support for Chat GPT/ChatGPT engine · Issue #2008 · searxng/searxng

Working URL to the engine You have to register but it's free with unlimited number of requests. https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ Why do you want to add this engine? It's not a search engine but it ...
GitHub
@Graupel @⚞ Alexia ⚟
⚞ Alexia ⚟
⚞ Alexia ⚟  
•

@firn SearxNG

Searx is no longer properly maintained

@Graupel
zetabeta
zetabeta  
•

as a reminder, tell a small hint which is worse.

some could interpret this toot in a way that i go back to google, it's equally bad.

i still think duckduckgo is less worse. actually a lot.

⚞ Alexia ⚟
⚞ Alexia ⚟  
•

@foolishowl

  1. Yes I know that.
  2. This work doesn't necessarily have to make it upstream, ever.
@FoolishOwl
adam solove
adam solove  
•
Kagi has been good. They do have some AI addons but nothing that I’ve ever interacted with or been annoyed by.
StillIRise1963 for HARRIS
StillIRise1963 for HARRIS  
•
Ugh. I just moved there.🙄
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
•

@StillIRise1963 yeah, the whole search engines space is bad.

At this point there doesn't seem to be a decent search engine with no AI integration what-so-ever. Sigh.

@StillIRise1963 for HARRIS
🗻🏔️⛰️🌋
🗻🏔️⛰️🌋  
•
their search results were starting to look more and more like google. Last couple of months the results were lousy and commercial. This explains it.
Andy
Andy  
•

always vpn to your own host running all your happy tools. One being SearXNG. https://github.com/searxng/searxng

Goes in a docker easily. It’s nice having a multi engine that cleans and sanitizes along the way.


GitHub - searxng/searxng: SearXNG is a free internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases. Users are neither tracked nor profiled.

SearXNG is a free internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases. Users are neither tracked nor profiled. - searxng/searxng
GitHub
FoolishOwl
FoolishOwl  
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@cyrus I figured you'd know, but I'm seeing the root of this thread getting boosted a lot, and people are clearly looking for options, so I thought it was worth making it clear.

I also think that since it's a feature request, it would help if people pushed back on it. This particular feature request would just add it as one more optional engine among a large number, which can be disabled in the config or by the user, so I'm not terribly worried about it.

@⚞ Alexia ⚟
▶️
▶️  
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I have to wonder at this point, what was wrong with DDG search BEFORE adding this?
Simon W 🥥🌴 🇺🇸
Simon W 🥥🌴 🇺🇸  
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it's entirely within their raison d'etre to offer privacy preserving access to services they don't have themselves. Think of this as a VPN for AI access. I've used other search engines that did this for images and maps, at least as an alternative. If they do it then it avoids you being tempted to access them without privacy protections.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
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@enmodo that's still buying into and supporting the hype train. And I ain't interested in that.
@Simon W 🥥🌴 🇺🇸
LAF and LOVE
LAF and LOVE  
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But, of course. They are Microsoft.
sqrt(-1)
sqrt(-1)  
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I do like searx, but it really is a frontend to a lot of search engines that you can set on your preferences (currently using the searx.be instance)
⠠⠵ avuko
⠠⠵ avuko  
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@ornaled @GossiTheDog I’d pay good money for a “simple” indexing and quality rating search engine without any other for-profit or content/people farming incentives.
@Kevin Beaumont @Ornaled
Fabi
Fabi  
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what about arc?
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
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@jcrabapple how does it make sense to defend "AI" in Search Engine B in a thread that started with me complaining about Search Engine A adding "AI"? Honestly, I am confused here. Help me out.

@archliberal @GossiTheDog

@Kevin Beaumont @Jcrabapple 💙
Jcrabapple 💙
Jcrabapple 💙  
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@archliberal @GossiTheDog Their "AI crap" is just a summary assistant that doesn't automatically activate unless you end your query with a '?'. And they're only using Brave's API to pull some search results from them to supplement results from Google, Bing, and their own index.
@Kevin Beaumont
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
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@MotionToExtendDebate I don't want to "use AI anonymously". I want to not use tools that have this crap integrated in the first place, as a way of very intentionally not supporting the hype.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
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@nus "don't worry about Tool A implementing the Torment Nexus, you can ignore it or turn it off for yourself in the settings." 🤷‍♀️
Jcrabapple 💙
Jcrabapple 💙  
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@archliberal @GossiTheDog my point is just that if you want a good search engine that doesn't shove AI/LLM down your throat, Kagi is a great option.
@Kevin Beaumont
Walter van Holst
Walter van Holst  
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@avuko @ornaled @GossiTheDog Kagi was sort of meant to do so, but then they went all tech-bro on disinformation
@⠠⠵ avuko @Kevin Beaumont @Ornaled
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦  
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@nus everyone gets to draw the line somewhere. I draw it there. You may draw it elsewhere.
JuliaR
JuliaR  
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o żesz... 🤦🏻‍♀️
Henning Deters
Henning Deters  
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kagi. It has AI crap, but it stays out of the way.
Estarriol, Cat owned Dragon
Estarriol, Cat owned Dragon  
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I do not want AI, I do not want cookies, I do not want vendors buying my searches and webpage visits.
Schroedinger
Schroedinger  
•

I use DDG at home, and realised that I haven't seen some of the odd stuff that so many others have commented on. Because I don't use Google.

I want it to stay that way. Work does use Ecosia, which is better than Google too. But I know they have some issues as well.

If I want an AI answer, I will use an AI. If I want a web search, I want to use a web searcher. If there are none that will do that job, then the web is unusable.

Aral Balkan
Aral Balkan  
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@alex Ah, damn. T’was bound to happen. They’re VC-funded. Let the enshittification begin!
@Alex Schroeder
Falcon Darkstar
Falcon Darkstar  
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I am reminded of when, against all feedback and better judgement, phone manufacturers universally decided to stop building headphone jacks and physical buttons.
Genders: ♾️, 🟪⬛🟩; Soni L.
Genders: ♾️, 🟪⬛🟩; Soni L.  
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great. let us know if you find a way out of the search engine rollercoaster entirely...

search engines are bad and cannot be trusted. :/

⇧