How does Startpage’s Private Search Engine work? (2024)

An overview of Startpage’s data flow and how we deliver private search worldwide.

Who’s looking over your shoulder while you surf?

Have you ever gotten a cold shiver down your spine all-of-a-sudden and that eerie feeling that someone is watching you? Yeah, us, too! But what if we told you that feeling is actually a real warning, especially if you’re on a computer? When you’re searching online, whether it’s for entertainment, shopping, educational information, trending news, or anything else, there’s a good chance that someone is watching (and using) everything you search, browse, and click on.

But you might ask, what are they really getting? It’s not like you’re putting your credit card info and social security number online! However, the fact remains that you DO provide a ton of information when you’re online, including your location, device type, and interests, which can all be recorded and warehoused for later use. Electronic Frontier Foundation provides details on exactly what information is being collected and how in their Behind the One-Way Mirror report:

“Trackers assemble data about our clicks, impressions, taps, and movement into sprawling behavioral profiles, which can reveal political affiliation, religious belief, sexual identity and activity, race and ethnicity, education level, income bracket, purchasing habits, and physical and mental health.” (https://www.eff.org/wp/behind-the-one-way-mirror)

Before you freak out and put on a tinfoil hat before you surf the web again, it’s important to understand that protecting your online privacy is easier than you think and far from a lost cause. Sure, it’s concerning that your personal data is being collected and used, but you can take back control. And Startpage is where you should start!

At Startpage, we help you control and protect your personal information. We believe you should be able to search the web without Big Data collecting your data or having ads follow you around.

What does Private Search Do?

Each time you search with Startpage’s private search engine, we:

• Remove all personal identifiable information like your IP address, device, and browsing history.
• Process your search query through Google’s best-in-class search technology.
• Deliver un-profiled Web, Image, Video and News search results to you, meaning you see the same results as anyone else in the world.
• Provide the option to browse your search results privately with “Anonymous View.”
• And lastly, protect all global users with European and Dutch privacy legislation, which is arguably the most stringent in the world.

How does Startpage’s private search engine work?

You may have heard the Dutch enjoy a good, straight-forward conversation. You can always count on Startpage for that, too. Our goal is to help you clearly understand data privacy and how we are working to create a more private future. Here’s how Startpage private search works:

1. Search Like No One Is Watching
:

You won’t have to worry that your search is being recorded with Startpage. Our encryption protocols prevent almost everyone, including your internet service provider, the NSA, or even a random hacker from taking a peek at your search. We use both Secure SocketLayer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). SSL/TLS is an encryption protocol that establishes a secure connection between your browser and Startpage’s servers. PFS makes SSL/TLS encryption even more secure by ensuring that the SSL/TLS session keys used for each encrypted session are unique.

2. Leave No Trace:

Your search query is not only secure, but also anonymized. The search query runs through “premise servers” that are owned and managed by Startpage where: 1) servers are located in locked cabinets, 2) data personnel can’t log in and 3) only non-US Startpage administrators manage the servers to prevent any potential gag orders. It’s at this stage where we remove all identifying information from your search including your IP address. This means Google only ever sees Startpage, not the individual user.

3. Leave it to Startpage & Google:

Consider Startpage your middleman. Any search query you make gets sent to a cloud server that doesn’t know you and communicates with Google. Search results are then returned to “premise servers” that are locked in cabinets, rather than going directly to your browser. This middle step better protects you by hiding you behind this privacy wall. We partner with Google because they have the industry’s best search technology compared to Yahoo or BING (which are widely used by other private search engines).

4. Startpage receives the result:

The “premise servers” receive the results and send them back to you.

5. Private Search Complete:

Congratulations! Here is where you get truly private search results. Your experience as a user will have barely changed, but you get to keep your personal data to yourself.

For an illustration of our privacy-guarding data flow diagram, check out:https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/1276/0/what-is-the-startpage-privacy-guarding-data-flow.

What makes Startpage different from other private search engines?

We love that there are choices when it comes to protecting your personal information! It means that society is moving towards a future where users control what personal data they share and what they choose to keep private. Like any movement, the more people who come on board, the greater the chance that we all win.

At Startpage, we’ve understood the importance of protecting personal data from the, well, start. This means we’ve essentially been the leader in the privacy game from the get-go and nowadays are known as the “the world’s most private search engine.”

Here are a couple key differentiators that set us apart from other search engines:

• Startpage is HQ’ed in the Netherlands. We comply with EU and Dutch privacy laws including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We have no obligation to retain personal data in any country where our servers are located, so we don’t. When you’re looking into other privacy search engines or products, we encourage you to do your research. Where are they based? What privacy legislation do they adhere to?
• We don’t collect or share any personal data. This may seem obvious, but you may notice that statement is a rare and precious one. We remove your IP address, not just part of it. Some search engines only delete the last octet of your IP address. Check privacy policies and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

We all have friends that like scary movies. They love the feeling of terror, at least in part, because they’re in control of when they feel it. At Startpage, we want that “I’m being watched” feeling to be totally in your control too. So when it comes to your personal data, the choice is entirely up to you. You get to decide what you want to share and what you want to remain private. Choose wisely!

Privacy Pro Tip: Always read privacy policies. Following the California Consumer Privacy Act, many websites have updated their privacy policies. You can start with ours: https://www.startpage.com/en/search/privacy-policy.html

If you find information unclear or have any questions, our support team is at your service (https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/Tickets/Submit/RenderForm).