For those who are still using google, this recently added search query strips all of the extras from Google search, leaving behind just the links!
Browser search query: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14
Or, I dunno, maybe just don’t use Google?
So I’d cut Google out entirely for the last year or so, but I still haven’t found a good search engine. DDG has been my go to, but it’s not great, and this old style Google seems to be close to how things were before all search engines sucked ass. Do you have any recommendations for alternatives?
I’m hesitant to say it because I’ve gotten some ridiculously hostile reactions for it, but I’ve really liked Kagi.
Yes, it’s a subscription service but that means they have an incentive to not show you shit results. According to some, paying for a search service is wrong because online services should be free, and I’m just astroturfing if I even mention it
According to some, paying for a search service is wrong because online services should be free
That’s stupid. Personally I think that Kagi is just a bit too expensive and it feels like they’re investing a lot into AI tools, features and external APIs that I have no interest in, which probably contributes to that high price.
If they had a $2-$3/month unlimited search only subscription without all the fluff I’d be game. But currently, using Google et al. with a good ad blocker still works well enough for me that I can’t justify paying for yet another service costing almost as much as a Spotify or Netflix subscription each month.
When it came down to it I realised I use search many many many mores times a day than I do Netflix so it became a no brainer for me to use Kagi… it’s funny my wife (who laughs at me for paying for search) was looking for a particular recipe yesterday and she was bouncing around Google unable to find exactly what she wanted… I put it into Kagi and it was literally the first item returned. She still laughs at me 🤷🏻♂️
What I will say is Kagi is pretty useless for local searching though, eg looking for a local business, Google is still much better at that but you can Google through Kagi to help protect privacy.
Startpage is basically a Google Search frontend and it works very well.
It used to be, it’s Bing nowadays I believe.
//edit: it says it uses google on the site, but I remember there was a bit of shitshow on the internetz ~year ago when they used bing instead. So… I’m confused now.
Startpage acts as an intermediary between you and other entities: For example, Startpage submits your query to Google and Bing anonymously on your behalf, then returns the results to you, privately.
So it uses both? Interesting.
not very different from DuckDuckGo, SearXNG, or Kagi.
I use Kagi and Ecosia, and my experience has been very positive. I recommend both.
What are you searching for that DDG is giving disappointing results?
Duck duck go is particularly bad at local searches and business data.
Back before Google gimped their own searches, Google was better at finding one-off things.
I’ve moved to SearXNG, which still makes my local searches suck, But the results are usually much better than DDG.
Quite satisfied with Brave Search.
Aside from the transphobia and crypto shilling, I’m sure they’re great
Is google better? I get you dont like brave as a company (i dont either) but their search engine works well
/ end of thread
You still google?
You still condescending?
Always have been.
No, but some people still do. I had a jab at them in the post, but I decided to remove it because I thought it was uneccesary.
cool info. but more of a lifehack
