Why Using a Private Search Engine Matters Right Now

[TheStrength]

What is Search Encrypt?

Search Encrypt is a privacy based search engine. It is built with privacy-by-design, which means it was made to emphasize user privacy. We want our private search engine to provide great search results, without compromising our user’s information. Search Encrypt helps you search the web without leaving your personal data behind.

What Is a Private Search Engine?

There are many types of private search engines. Essentially, a private search engine is a search engine that doesn’t track its users, and delivers search results with added layers of protection. Search Encrypt is unique because it uses local encryption for an added layer of privacy protection. Your search terms are transmitted to our servers in encrypted form, where they are decrypted and sent through our private search engine.

Privacy focused search engines, like Search Encrypt or Startpage, probably won’t replace Google any time soon. In recent years though, and more so in 2017, these private search engines have seen noticeable increases in traffic and the searches they process. Search Encrypt is no exception to this growth.

5 Ways Search Encrypt Protects You

1. No Targeted Advertising – The ads you see on Search Encrypt are based solely on the search term you entered and not on your past browsing history. Search Encrypt does not operate an ad network like some of the major search engines.
2. Expiring Browser History – When you’ve finished searching, your search history expires. This means that no one can access your search terms in your search history, not even someone with access to your computer.
3. SSL Encryption – We use the latest encryption methods, both SSL (HTTPS) encryption and AES-256 encryption. Your search terms are encrypted locally.
4. Privacy by Design – Search Encrypt was created as a private search engine. That means that privacy was considered when adding features and throughout the development process.
5. Transparency – Our privacy policy explains, in clear and concise terms, how we keep your identifiable information private from us, and from anyone who may have access to your computer.

How does Search Encrypt Work?

Search Encrypt is available as an internet search engine and as a browser extension search tool. Our search engine works like any other search engine, simply navigate to the site and enter your search term. Our browser extension can help keep your searches more private from search engines that may track your search data.

Internet Search Engine (SearchEncrypt.com)

When you perform a search on Search Encrypt, it encrypts your search terms locally. Search Encrypt makes searching the web privately more convenient by eliminating unnecessary steps. You don’t have to constantly clear your browsing history either because Search Encrypt browsing history expires after you are done searching.

Search Encrypt recently added a privacy-friendly maps search to its features. Right now, Search Encrypt offers web, image, news, videos and maps searches that all keep your information more private and in encrypted form. We have many more features in the pipeline and look forward to announcing them here soon!

Search Encrypt Browser Extension

Search Encrypt is available as a browser extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Your search terms may be encrypted locally and redirected through our private search engine. Our extension helps you avoid search engine tracking that may follow you around the web.

Why You Should Use Private Search Engines?

The truth is, people know that search engines are tracking them. Most websites have privacy policies which clearly state that they use cookies and other means of tracking users. Any in many cases, when we are asked to give apps, websites, or products permission to track us, we blindly agree. This may seem acceptable at first, but it’s problematic if that same tracker is following you two years later, when you’ve forgotten about it.

Your search engine should be optimized for searching the internet, not tracking you once you’ve left. Your Google information can be used against you in legal cases, even in civil cases like divorces. To search the web, a search engine will deliver the best answer to your question or the most relevant web page. Search engines that use complex tracking to gather your information won’t do this. Their goal is to deliver the answer you are most likely to click on, which isn’t always the best answer. Private search engines deliver better search results because they don’t use your past searches to determine what you see on the internet.

Data Profiles Get Used Against You

The information your search engine and other websites gather about you reveals a lot of personal information. Sometimes, though, this information is skewed or incorrect. In this case, you can be subject to the negative consequences of information even if it’s wrong. Data profiling could lead to you losing out on a job opportunity or being denied for a loan if you fit an “undesirable” profile.

You can limit the information your search engine stores by using a private search engine.

Which Private Search Engines are The Best?

There are quite a few choices for private search engines, these are the three most popular. Each offers slightly different methods for keeping your information hidden from big search engines. The advantage to many of these extends beyond privacy. The search results can be better because they are more objective and don’t change based on your past internet behavior.

• Search Encrypt – We use local encryption so your searches aren’t visible to others on your network. Our AES-256 encryption is the industry standard for encryption, and one of the most secure.
• DuckDuckGo – DuckDuckGo is the most recognizable private search engine. DuckDuckGo offers many features that supplement its search well, including a recently launched extension that helps protect users beyond searches.
• StartPage – StartPage is most popular in Europe, especially in Germany. It is a private search engine that sources its results from Google, but eliminates the tracking and storing of you data.
• Ghostpeek – Ghostpeek is another private search engine. It has noticeably fewer ads than some other private search engines and uses high-level encryption to keep your search terms secret.

Search Encrypt, DuckDuckGo, StartPage and Ghostpeek are all private search engines, so they will keep your searches safer than the traditional search engines. We recommend searching with each of these search engines and reading their respective privacy policies to make an informed decision about which to use.

Private Search Engine Browser Extensions

Another way to add to your search privacy is to use private search engines as browser extensions. You just add these to your browser, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, and may either redirect your searches to a private search engine or switch your default search engine to its private search engine.

Try these Private Search Extensions

• Search Encrypt : Search Encrypt’s extension is unique from many other search engine extensions, because it can protect you from other search engines that may track you information. If the extension detects you are searching on a tracked search engine, it may securely redirect you to Search Encrypt’s private search engine.
• StartPage – Private Search Engine: This extension just changes your default search engine to StartPage.com. If you currently use Google, this alternative search engine delivers the same results with added privacy protection.
• DuckDuckGo Privacy Extensions: DuckDuckGo’s extension goes beyond just a search engine. It grades each website you visit on privacy, based on how many trackers the site has. The company wants to make privacy accessible and easy for everyone. It wants to reveal the biggest trackers on the web to increase awareness about the issues with web tracking.

Make The Internet Private for Everyone

Search Encrypt’s mission is to continue to improve the privacy landscape on the internet. We want to continue to raise the bar for privacy for everyone on every website, not just search engines.

The recent Facebook data scandals involving people’s personal data brought privacy concerns into mainstream media. As tracking becomes more widespread, people will have to take privacy into their own hands. Search Encrypt and other privacy advocates are working to make keeping your data protected easier!

Source: choosetoencrypt