Startpage

The pitch is Google’s results without Google’s tracking, which is genuinely useful if you find privacy-focused engines return weaker results but still want to escape the profiling. The catch is that it’s closed-source and proxies a company you may be trying to get away from, so you’re trusting Startpage’s word on the privacy layer. Choose it when result quality is non-negotiable and you’ll accept a closed intermediary to get there. Anyone wanting an independent index that doesn’t touch Google should look at Mojeek instead.