Heard some sketchy stuff about duckduckgo recently, found out about start page.many users?

  • bluespin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I used it for a bit. For a supposedly privacy focused search engine, they sure dislike when users connect through a VPN. I’m met with constant identity checks and, with certain queries, straight up access denied pages. Selling the company to an ad agency is another massive red flag. It’s unfortunate since we’re starved for decent, free search options these days, but skip them.

    • Anamana@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      I don’t encounter this issue with AirVPN anymore, but I used to.

      The good thing about Startpage is that they give you proxy links for every searchresult. Therefore if the website/cloudflare blocks VPN traffic you can still access the website sometimes :)

    • ares35@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      i encounter the same problems there, and at ecosia, whenever i don’t connect directly and with some of my addons disabled.