8 search engines that are better than Google

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It's not about Yandex or Bing at all. There are search engines that are really better than the market leaders. Even if not in everything.

1. DuckDuckGo

What is it

DuckDuckGo is a fairly well-known open source search engine. The servers are located in the USA. In addition to its own robot, the search engine uses the results of other sources: Yahoo, Bing, Wikipedia.

The better

DuckDuckGo positions itself as a search engine that provides maximum privacy and confidentiality. The system does not collect any user data, does not store logs (no search history), the use of cookies is as limited as possible.

DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information from users. This is our privacy policy.

Gabriel Weinberg founder of DuckDuckGo

Why do you need it

All major search engines try to personalize search results based on the data about the person in front of the monitor. This phenomenon is called the "filter bubble": the user sees only those results that are consistent with his preferences or that the system considers as such.

DuckDuckGo creates an objective picture that does not depend on your past behavior on the web, and gets rid of Google and Yandex thematic ads based on your queries. DuckDuckGo makes it easy to search for information in foreign languages, while Google and Yandex by default give preference to Russian-language sites, even if the request is entered in another language.

2.not Evil

What is it

not Evil is a search engine for the Tor anonymous network. To use it, you need to go to this network, for example, by launching a specialized browser.

not Evil is not the only search engine of its kind. There is LOOK (the default search in the Tor browser, accessible from the regular Internet) or TORCH (one of the oldest search engines in the Tor network) and others. We settled on not Evil because of the unambiguous hint of Google (just look at the start page).

The better

Searches where Google, Yandex and other search engines are closed in principle.

Why do you need it

There are many resources on the Tor network that cannot be found on the law-abiding Internet. And their number will grow as the government tightens control over the content of the Web. Tor is a kind of network within the Network with its own social networks, torrent trackers, media, marketplaces, blogs, libraries, and so on.

3. YaCy

What is it

YaCy is a decentralized search engine based on P2P networks. Each computer on which the main software module is installed scans the Internet independently, that is, it is an analogue of a search robot. The results obtained are collected in a common database, which is used by all participants in YaCy.

The better

It is difficult to say whether it is better or worse here, since YaCy is a completely different approach to organizing search. The absence of a single server and company-owner makes the results completely independent of someone's preferences. The autonomy of each node excludes censorship. YaCy is capable of searching the deep web and non-indexed public networks.

Why do you need it

If you are a supporter of open source software and the free Internet, which is not influenced by government agencies and large corporations, then YaCy is your choice. It can also be used to organize searches within a corporate or other autonomous network. And while YaCy is not very useful in everyday life, it is a worthy alternative to Google in terms of the search process.

4. Pipl

What is it

Pipl is a system designed to search for information about a specific person.

The better

The authors of Pipl claim that their specialized algorithms search more efficiently than "regular" search engines. In particular, the priority sources of information are social media profiles, comments, lists of participants and various databases where information about people is published, such as databases of court decisions. Pipl's leadership in this area is confirmed by ratings from Lifehacker.com, TechCrunch and other publications.

Why do you need it

If you need to find information about a person living in the United States, then Pipl will be much more effective than Google. The databases of Russian courts are apparently inaccessible to the search engine. Therefore, he does not cope with the citizens of Russia so well.

5. FindSounds

What is it

FindSounds is another specialized search engine. Searches open sources for various sounds: house, nature, cars, people, and so on. The service does not support queries in Russian, but there is an impressive list of Russian-language tags that you can search for.

The better

The results are only sounds and nothing more. In the settings, you can set the desired format and sound quality. All found sounds are available for download. There is a pattern search.

Why do you need it

If you need to quickly find the sound of a musket shot, the blows of a sucking woodpecker, or the scream of Homer Simpson, then this service is for you. And we chose this only from the available Russian-language requests. In English, the spectrum is even wider.

Seriously speaking, a specialized service assumes a specialized audience. But what if it comes in handy?

6. Wolfram | Alpha

What is it

Wolfram | Alpha is a computational search engine. Instead of links to articles containing keywords, it provides a ready-made response to a user's request. For example, if you enter "compare the populations of New York and San Francisco" in English into the search form, Wolfram | Alpha will immediately display tables and graphs with a comparison.

The better

This service is better than others for finding facts and calculating data. Wolfram | Alpha collects and organizes knowledge available on the Web from a variety of fields, including science, culture and entertainment. If this database contains a ready-made answer to a search query, the system shows it; if not, it calculates and displays the result. In this case, the user sees only the necessary information and nothing superfluous.

Why do you need it

If you are, for example, a student, analyst, journalist, or research scientist, you can use Wolfram | Alpha to find and calculate data related to your work. The service does not understand all requests, but it is constantly evolving and becoming smarter.

Wolfram | Alpha →

7. Dogpile

What is it

The Dogpile metasearch engine displays a combined list of search results from Google, Yahoo and other popular search engines.

The better

First, Dogpile displays fewer ads. Secondly, the service uses a special algorithm to find and show the best results from different search engines. According to the developers of Dogpile, their system generates the most complete search results on the entire Internet.

Why do you need it

If you cannot find information in Google or another standard search engine, search for it in several search engines at once using Dogpile.

Dogpile →

8. BoardReader

What is it

BoardReader is a system for text search in forums, Q&A services and other communities.

The better

The service allows you to narrow the search field to social platforms. Thanks to special filters, you can quickly find posts and comments that match your criteria: language, publication date and site name.

Why do you need it

BoardReader can be useful for PR specialists and other media professionals who are interested in the opinion of a mass audience on certain issues.

BoardReader →

Finally

The life of alternative search engines is often fleeting. Lifehacker asked the former general director of the Ukrainian branch of Yandex about the long-term prospects of such projects.

- As for the fate of alternative search engines, it is simple: to be very niche projects with a small audience, therefore, without clear commercial prospects, or, conversely, with complete clarity of their absence.

If you look at the examples in the article, you can see that such search engines either specialize in a narrow but demanded niche, which, perhaps only so far, has not grown enough to be noticeable on Google or Yandex radars, or they are testing an original hypothesis in ranking. which is not yet applicable in regular search.

For example, if a search on Tor suddenly turns out to be in demand, that is, results from there will be needed at least by a percentage of Google's audience, then, of course, ordinary search engines will begin to solve the problem of how to find and show them to the user. If the audience behavior shows that the results seem more relevant to a significant proportion of users in a significant number of queries, data without taking into account user-dependent factors, then Yandex or Google will begin to give such results.

“To be better” in the context of this article does not mean “to be better at everything”. Yes, in many aspects our heroes are far from Google and Yandex (even Bing is far away). But on the other hand, each of these services gives the user something that the giants of the search industry cannot offer. Surely you also know similar projects. Share with us - we will discuss.