6 search engines that few people know about
At first glance, it may seem that only Yandex can be better than Google, and even that is not a fact. These companies invest huge sums in innovation and development. Does anyone really have a chance not only to compete with the leaders, but also to win? Lifehacker's answer: "Yes!" There are several search engines that have succeeded. Let's look at our heroes.
What is it
It 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 results from other sources: Yahoo! Search BOSS, Wikipedia, Wolfram|Alpha.
The better
DuckDuckGo positions itself as the ultimate privacy and privacy search. The system does not collect any data about the user, 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 this
All major search engines try to personalize search results based on data about the person in front of the monitor. This phenomenon is called "filter bubble": the user sees only those results that are consistent with his preferences or that the system considers as such.
DuckDuckGo forms an objective picture that does not depend on your past behavior on the Web, and gets rid of Google and Yandex thematic advertising based on your requests. DuckDuckGo makes it easy to search for information in foreign languages: Google and Yandex prefer Russian-language sites by default, even if the query is entered in another language.
What is it
"" is a Russian metasearch engine developed by Moscow State University graduates Viktor Lavrenko and Vladimir Chernyshov. It searches for Google, Bing, Yandex and other indexes, and also has its own search algorithm.
The better
Searching through the indexes of all major search engines allows you to generate relevant results. In addition, "Nigma" divides the results into several thematic groups (clusters) and prompts the user to narrow the search field, discarding unnecessary or prioritizing. Thanks to the "Mathematics" and "Chemistry" modules, you can solve mathematical problems and request the results of chemical reactions right in the search bar.
Why do you need this
Eliminates the need to search for the same query in different search engines. The cluster system makes it easy to manipulate search results. For example, "Nigma" collects results from online stores in a separate cluster. If you do not intend to buy something, then simply exclude this group. If you select the "English-language sites" cluster, you will receive search results in English only. Modules "Mathematics" and "Chemistry" will help schoolchildren.
Unfortunately, the project is currently not being developed, as the developers have shifted their activity to the Vietnamese market. Nevertheless, "Nigma" is not only not outdated, but in some things it still outperforms Google. Let's hope that development resumes.
What is it
not Evil is a system that searches the anonymous Tor network. To use it, you need to go to this network, for example, by launching a specialized browser with the same name. not Evil is not the only search engine of its kind. There is LOOK (default search in the Tor browser, accessible from the regular Internet) or TORCH (one of the oldest search engines on the Tor network) and others. We settled on not Evil because of the unambiguous allusion to Google itself (just look at the start page).
The better
He is looking for where Google, Yandex and other search engines are denied access in principle.
Why do you need this
There are many resources on the Tor network that cannot be found on the law-abiding Internet. And as the authorities tighten control over the contents of the Web, their number will grow. Tor is a kind of Network within the Network: with its social networks, torrent trackers, media, marketplaces, blogs, libraries, and so on.
YaCy
What is it
YaCy is a decentralized search engine that works on the principle of P2P networks. Each computer on which the main software module is installed scans the Internet on its own, that is, it is an analogue of a search robot. The results obtained are collected in a common database, which is used by all YaCy participants.
The better
It is difficult to say here whether this is better or worse, since YaCy is a completely different approach to organizing search. The lack of a single server and owner company makes the results completely independent of anyone'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 this
If you are a supporter of open source software and a free Internet that 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 although YaCy is not very useful in everyday life, it is a worthy alternative to Google in terms of the search process.
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, 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 Lifehacker.com, TechCrunch and other publications.
Why do you need this
If you need to find information about a person living in the US, then Pipl will be much more efficient than Google. Databases of Russian courts, apparently, are inaccessible to the search engine. Therefore, he does not cope so well with the citizens of Russia.
What is it
Another specialized search engine. Searches for various sounds (house, nature, cars, people, and so on) in open sources. The service does not support requests in Russian, but there is an impressive list of Russian-language tags that you can search for.
The better
In the issuance of only sounds and nothing more. In the search settings, you can set the desired format and sound quality. All found sounds are available for download. There is a search for sounds by pattern.
Why do you need this
If you need to quickly find the sound of a musket shot, the blow of a sucking woodpecker, or the cry of Homer Simpson, then this service is for you. And I chose this only from the available Russian-language queries. In English, the spectrum is even wider. But seriously, a specialized service implies a specialized audience. But will it come in handy for you too?
The life of alternative search engines is often fleeting. Lifehacker asked the former CEO of the Ukrainian branch of Yandex, Sergey Petrenko, about the long-term prospects for 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 the 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 in-demand niche, which, perhaps only so far, has not grown enough to be noticeable on the radars of Google or Yandex, or are testing an original hypothesis in ranking, which is not yet applicable in conventional search.
For example, if a Tor search suddenly turns out to be in demand, that is, at least a percentage of the Google audience will need the results from there, then, of course, ordinary search engines will begin to solve the problem of how to find them and show them to the user. If the behavior of the audience shows that a significant proportion of users in a significant number of queries seem to have more relevant results, data without taking into account factors that depend on the user, 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 far from Bing). But each of these services gives the user something that the giants of the search industry cannot offer.