Well, I switched back to @StartpageSearch for my search after a few years of using DuckDuckGo , but then almost immediately read that they (Stargpage) launched their own AI service.

What fucking search engine can I use that doesn't use AI? This is just utterly fucking ridiculous.

#fuckai #noai #ai

@cmccullough @StartpageSearch

The only startpage AI related product I'm aware of is vanish.startpage.com, which isn't really an AI service they run, it's just a proxy to anonymize your requests out to major LLMs, the exact way they proxy your searches and anonymize them before hitting google's servers.

That's always been their model, put a proxy server between the user and the mainstream service with anonymization.

@cmccullough @StartpageSearch

This is sort of similar (but not completely) to how DDG sources many search results from Bing. (https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/sources).

For a truly controlled search experience check out searxng.org, which is a meta-search engine and way more involved.

Startpage is essentially "Google, but private." I've been using it for years and it does not integrate LLMs into your searches (https://www.reddit.com/r/StartpageSearch/comments/1ee99h5/comment/lg0hcbb/)

Where do DuckDuckGo search results come from? - DuckDuckGo Help Pages

DuckDuckGo is an independent internet privacy company that offers a private alternative to Google search & Chrome in one free app.