Startpage
reviews and complaints

I tested 15 best search engines by http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/search-engines. StartPage seems to me the best. Second place - Duckduckgo, I used before for several months. Google is good, but spy. Bing is even bigger spy.
One of advantages of StartPage is correct localization, it gave me first line results in Ukrainian, not in Russian as do all the rest search engines. For the rest I need every time to add in search line -ru and -russian, etc. It's very annoying.

StartPage is a hidden gem in the vast landscape of search engines, offering a sanctuary for those seeking privacy in their online searches. As a user, you are welcomed into a world where your data is shielded from prying eyes, where every search is a step towards reclaiming your digital autonomy. The interface is clean and intuitive, reminiscent of the familiar Google search experience but with a cloak of anonymity. While some users may find the image search format lacking, the trade-off for unparalleled privacy is more than worth it. StartPage stands as a beacon of hope for those tired of being tracked and targeted online, offering a haven where your searches are truly yours. Dive into the world of StartPage and experience the freedom of searching without fear.

This search engine is even more private than www.ixquick.com... It doesn't allow links to work in the webpage you visit that would be able to trace back to you...

After minor adjustments in settings the browser is very quick and super private, I use "StartPage" in Firefox and Microsoft Edge as my homepage. I also use "StartPage" with my VPN to increase security. Great browser!

Ixquick is a new search engine that respects the privacy of its users. Their results are quite accurate and the best thing is that they claim that they keep absolutely no records of ip addresses and search strings. ( as you know Google maintains a detailed user profile for everyone that uses its services)

StartPage is an initiative by Ixquick.

StartPage works similar to Google. Go into your URL bar - type "startpage.com" and you can surf the internet like Google does. But - what's the difference between Google and StartPage? What makes StartPage better than other search engines?

Well StartPage.com picks up very similar results as to what Google would pick up. StartPage.com doesn't log your IP address and supports 256 bit SSL. A really cool part about StartPage.com is its proxy tool. For example - lets say you wanted to view the NASA website - enter NASA into the engine, then click "proxy". This will then take you into their site through a secure proxy server. However - bare in mind that it will disable Java.

I am looking for a 'Safe Search Engine and because I saw this in an article I was reading -->- > [So I Ixquicked " (Ixquick, that's my favorite search engine ("the world's most private search engine")), Read Review Guidelines. Thank you, Sincerely, for providing this safe search engine for Good people. The 'World' needs you. I will be back. I do get confused when a different name comes up from what I have searched. I will Register then tour this website.- Love. From me.

StartPage banned me from their search engine due to "unusual traffic similar to bots". They also mentioned use of a VPN & Tor privacy browser as contributing factors - and I was using both. It seems strange that they call themselves a privacy browser, and yet they disallow privacy tools that might hide personal data from THEM. If Startpage doesn't collect and sell data as they claim, how are they paying salaries & bills? Does Startpage offer proof of their altruistic claims? Do they have verification from the privacy police? After they banned me, I deleted Startpage from all my browsers and replaced it with DuckDuckGo.

The problem with StartPage (formerly Ixquick) is that their search results are nothing compared to what you would get with Google. You can test it for yourself. The search results are surprisingly horrible, and in some cases unusable, e.g., getting zero results on a set of search terms with StartPage while Google provides hundreds of matches... still happening a year later after my Ixquick review. Privacy is essential, but a search engine must have some useful capacity comparatively speaking, and StartPage just doesn't cut it.

Update (5/20/17): In response to the reply from StartPage S. -- I'm on a dynamic IP (it changes regularly), never logged in to Google, have no Google software installed on my computer, and my browser cache is always cleared, etc. So Google has no search history or profile or any other means to track me or my searches.

Besides, I don't use Google and haven't for several years now. I've only used Google to comparatively test results among other search engines. I've done a number of tests over the past several years, all of which were conducted under new/different IP addresses, and some of which were at different geographical locations. Bottom line, the "tracking variable" in my tests is effectively controlled.

And as I've already mentioned, the issue here is in the quality of search results as well as the quantity, e.g., zero results with StartPage while Google provides hundreds in some cases. Moreover, I'm also comparing StartPage results with other non-tracking search engines. Sorry, but the technical glitch is not on my end.

For those interested, I've opted to use DuckDuckGo. It has its problems as well, but comparatively it remains the best out of the non-tracking alternatives out there, all of which still fall behind Google in terms of their search results, but from my testing and experience the best alternative to Google for privacy.