Note: This setup is both for my android and pc Edit: For those recommending paid services and selfhosting, I don't have the money nor resources for either. Also it seams some people are confusing my android setup with my PC setup so I'll write it down. Android: Brave(movies) + Ironfox, Search: Brave + DDG, VPN: Proton ( not always on), GPay = Cash, Auth= Aegis Auth, Pass: KeepassDX, PC: Firefox= Librewolf, VPN = No VPN (VERY slow internet), Search: Searxng + DDG, Pass: KeepassXC,
Brave nor duck duck go can be trusted.
Brave has been known to inject their own referral links in people urls.
Duck duck go serves bing results and has to give Microsoft special acces to do so.
The actual alternatives are:
Firefox based browsers (waterfox, librefox)
Self hosted searxng for search-engine. This one will get results from all possible configurable engine and allow zero trackers.
Notable mention: self hosting isn’t for everyone, startpage.net is to google what ddg is to bing, but it hasn’t had any scandals proving that they give special acces to google yet. Still self hosting is not that hard with docker, i do recommend a local searxng.
Where did you learn about duck duck go just being bing results they pay for?
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/duckduckgo-browser-allows-microsoft-trackers-due-to-search-agreement/
Now I little after this came out they do claim they removed them (odd how that suddenly changes after it was no longer secret)
But then much more recent as listed on wikipedia, verifying they still have some long term deals with microsoft in 2025… microsoft is not going to make a deal with a perceived competitor for nothing in return.
There is also more general proof that while duck may technically use other sources also. It really is mostly bing:
I literally do not understand how they managed to take such foothold in real privacy communities. I used to love brave till the i was repeatedly pointed to the scandals that many people are aware of and informing others about… but considering ddg i rarely see anyone pointing this out. It actually smells like a huge successful marketing adventure to sell bing to privacy enthusiasts, but for that i obvio do not have proof.
I often imagine this meme with bing instead of google and a cute duck go as mr incognito
Duckdickgo and startpage just anonymize Bing/Google search results. They aren't trying to be their own things, and thats ok.
That would be ok if it wasn’t a lie.
Which for duck it definitely was for years, and considering they still have a long term deal with microsoft, still is.
I have another reply in this thread somewhere that lists my sources.
But here is another I hadn’t listed. (Source used by Wikipedia)
“One of the bigger customers that is unaffected for now is the search engine DuckDuckGo, company spokesperson Kamyl Bazbaz confirmed to WIRED. “They're retiring the self-serve version,” Bazbaz says. Brown says Brave's understanding is that companies that have inked private and long-term deals with Microsoft will maintain access to the APIs.”
Just ask yourself, what does Microsoft get out of it? If for the first decade at least it contractually includes free passage from bing and linkedin trackers.
Try presearch.com - great search results, no tracking
Lol, it’s littered with predatory ads.
I appreciate the attempt but self hosting searxng is free, has no ads and
You can include presearch results as part of your searxng results, its already listed by default
Fair :) I'll take a look 👍