3. Switch to a Private Search Engine
It’s no secret that big search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) record and track everything you do related to your searches. This includes tracking the sites you visit after leaving their search page, which helps them to build unique user profiles for their advertising partners.
However, there are really great alternatives to “the usual suspects” that take user privacy seriously and do not record or track any of your search activity.
DuckDuckGo.com – This is a great privacy-friendly Google alternative that doesn’t utilize tracking or targeted ads. They also have a zero-sharing policy, but they do record search terms. DuckDuckGo utilizes the Bing search platform but strips all tracking and profiling code from before returning your search results.
StartPage.com – StartPage gives you Google search results, but without the tracking. It was created in 2004 as "the world’s most private search engine", which doesn’t log, track or share your personal data. It has added many additional privacy features, like " Anonymous View " for further protection. Startpage.com is privately held by Startpage BV, an EU-based company, where privacy laws are amongst the most stringent in the world.
searX.me – This search engine is a very privacy-friendly and versatile metasearch engine that queries and returns search results from over 70 Internet search databases. It uses HTTPS/SSL. It’s code is 100% open source available for review by anyone. searX.me does not share users' IP addresses or search history with the search engines from which it gathers results. Tracking cookies served by the search engines are blocked, preventing user-profiling-based results modification. By default, searx queries are submitted using a protocol that prevents users' query keywords from appearing in webserver logs.
Qwant.com – A private search engine based in France. Qwant philosophy is based on two principles: no user tracking and no filter bubble. Qwant was launched in France in February 2013.
MetaGer.org – Is a meta search engine quering up to 50 search engines offering real variety in results based on relevancy – not by “filter-bubble,” user profile, “fingerprint” identity, or search engine optimization algorithm. It’s a non-profit, charitable association committed to transparency and free access to knowledge for all. It understands free research is not compatible with mass surveillance and takes privacy very seriously. As such, MetaGer always only processes data that is necessary for the operation of our services. It does not log, track, record, share, or profile any user’s of its search engine - it doesn’t store or share user IP-addresses, user-agent data, search queries, or location data. All user searches are performed anonymously, including route-planning and geographical / mapping data via anonymous proxy and the Hidden-Tor-Branch. It has its own anonymizing geo-mapping service, maps.metager.de, to ensure this privacy. It uses open-source software allowing 3rd-party examination and verification checks. MetaGer uses green electricity for our servers. It also clearly explains what and how it handles user data essential for processing a user’s search requests.
Swisscows.com – They do not collect your data, track, or store your data. Swisscows provides complete search anonymity. They own all of their own servers and do not work with a cloud or third party. Their data center is in a secured bunker the Swiss Alps and have positioned everything geographically outside of EU and US.
searchencrypt.com – All user searches are encrypted. Search Encrypt does not track user's searches or search history. They also claim to make use of the newest and best possible security features, including Perfect Secrecy SSL to protect user's searches and ensure that they remain private.
Yippy.com – Yippy is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of the users of its services. No personally identifiable information is ever required, since Yippy is intended to be an anonymous service. IT does collect limited session-based non-personally identifying information that your browser makes available, to deliver its search services, including your IP address, browser type & language, referral data, date and time of your query, and one or more cookies (described below) that may uniquely identify your browser, which are deleted when your session ends — cookies are not used to uniquely identify you or track your behavior. You can set your browser to refuse all cookies and still use Yippy search services. Yippy doesn’t sell or provide personally identifiable information to any third parties, nor does it provide advertising or third party tracking scripts.
4. Thwart Search Engine Tracking URLs
It's no secret that Google makes money by tracking your behavior for targeted ads, and that's problematic from a privacy perspective. Using DuckDuckGo is a good alternative for some of us, but the quality of Google's results can be difficult to forgo. Thankfully, you can easily sidestep one of Google's most obnoxious behaviors: URL trackers. When you click on a URL in Google, it actually loads a redirect URL first for easier tracking. Even worse, simply copying the link from Google can give you a long, messy tracking link instead of the plain URL you really want.
Searchlinkfix for Firefox – This is a Firefox-only add-on that completely strips away the tracking string that Google attaches to each web link you click on the Google search results page. This extension prevents Google and Yandex search pages from modifying search result links when you click them. This is useful when copying links but it also helps privacy by preventing the search engines from recording your clicks.
Searchlinkfix for Chrome - This is the link for Chrome-only add-on by the same developer of the Firefox add-on.
Searchlinkfix for Opera - This is the link for the Opera-only version of the add-on
5. Additional Ad Blocking Steps for Hiding Your Tracks
To obtain and maintain maximum privacy, you need to effectively block all ads served up to your browser as you surf the Internet. Note that ad-blocking works differently on mobile devices, especially on iPhones and iPads, where there aren’t as many options. The best ad blocking setup will depend on your situation and needs. If you have numerous devices you use at home, setting up a network-wide ad blocker would be a good solution for blanket protection.
Here are a few different options to help you achieve better privacy.
Dedicated Ad blocker apps – A dedicated app will most likely do a very good job blocking ads on your device. One popular and well-regarded option is AdGuard.
VPN Ad blocker – Another option is to use a VPN service that offers an ad blocking feature (VPN ad blocker), such as ProtonVPN, Perfect Privacy VPN and IPVanish VPN service.
Ad blocking on a router – Ad blocking on a router can be accomplished various ways – from using ad blocking DNS to loading custom filter lists onto your router.
Block Location Data – Any proper browser should let you toggle on and off location data and I recommend leaving it off completely or at least until you really need to find something. At the very least, demand that websites prompt you for access before gathering the data. That said, IP-based geolocation data is incredibly trivial to acquire, so remain vigilant. This is especially relevant if your mobile phone or tablet is connected to cellular service or WiFi hotspots. If you're browsing the Internet without a proxy or a VPN, you're effectively broadcasting your IP to every server you come across, and that information can be used to determine where you are located.