Search Engines and Alternatives in FOSS

Have Japanese businesses thought about what kind of data is collected when their team members use popular search services, such as Google and Bing? Both collect various types of data when users interact with their search engines.

Search Query Data

Both search engines record the actual search terms and phrases users enter.

This allows them to:

• Improve search algorithms and results relevance
• Provide personalized search suggestions
• Target ads based on search intent

Location Data

• General location based on IP address
• More precise location if location services are enabled

Device and Browser Details

• Type of device (mobile, desktop, tablet)
• Operating system
• Browser used

Account Information

If signed in, additional data like email address and account preferences may be linked to searches.

Click-through Data

Both track which search results users click on and how long they spend on sites before returning to results.

Search History

A log of past searches is maintained, though retention policies differ:

• Google automatically deletes search history after 18 months for new accounts
• Bing keeps search history for 18 months unless manually deleted sooner

On-Site Activity

For users logged into associated services (e.g. Gmail, Outlook), activity across those platforms may be linked to search data.

Technical Data

• IP address
• Date and time of searches
• Unique identifiers stored in cookies

How Data is Used

This collected information serves several purposes:

• Personalizing search results and suggestions
• Improving search algorithms
• Targeting advertising
• Analyzing search trends and user behavior

Privacy Considerations

While both engines collect similar types of data, there are some differences in privacy approaches:

• Google offers options to turn off data collection for advertising
• Bing doesn't provide an option to disable personalized search or data collection
• Both allow users to view and delete their search history

What are the alternatives?

With FOSS there is always alternatives, :-) . In this case we can talk about SearXNG.

It is a free and open-source metasearch engine that aggregates search results from over 70 different search services, including Google and DuckDuckGo. It is designed to prioritize user privacy, ensuring that users are neither tracked nor profiled during their searches.

If businesses host their own, they are not relying on any third-party SaaS search services.

Key Features of SearXNG

SearXNG acts as an intermediary between users and search engines, offering several benefits:

• Privacy Protection: It doesn't store user data or search history, enhancing user privacy.
• Customization: Users can select which search engines to query and customize the interface.
• Diverse Results: By combining results from various sources, it provides a broader range of information.

Federated Search Approach

Whart is Federation?:

• SearXNG doesn't maintain its own index of web pages.
• Instead, it sends user queries to multiple search engines and websites simultaneously.
• It then aggregates, ranks, and presents the combined results to the user.

Benefits of Federation:

• Comprehensive Results: By querying multiple sources, SearXNG offers a more complete set of search results.
• Reduced Bias: Aggregating from various engines helps mitigate the bias of any single search algorithm.
• Enhanced Privacy: The original search engines don't receive user information directly.

How It Works

1. Query Submission: A user enters a search query on the SearXNG interface.
2. Distributed Search: SearXNG forwards this query to multiple configured search engines and websites.
3. Result Collection: It gathers results from all these sources in real-time.
4. Aggregation and Ranking: The collected results are combined and ranked based on relevance.
5. Presentation: The final, aggregated results are displayed to the user.

Customization and Deployment

SearXNG can be self-hosted, allowing individuals or organizations to set up their own instance with customized settings, including:

• Selection of search engines to query
• Result ranking preferences
• User interface customization

If organizations understand the federated approach, they can appreciate how it offers a unique, privacy-focused search experience that combines results from multiple sources while protecting user data.

Why would a company want to host their own search engine?

1. Enhanced privacy: By hosting their own search engine, a company can ensure that employee search queries are not tracked or logged by third-party search providers. This protects sensitive company information and employee privacy.
2. Customization: SearXNG allows extensive customization of the search experience. A company could tailor the search engines used, adjust result rankings, and customize the interface to match their brand and needs.
3. Control over data: With their own instance, the company has full control over search data and can implement their own data retention and security policies.
4. Avoid censorship or filtering: Some countries or networks may restrict access to certain search engines. A self-hosted SearXNG instance can bypass these restrictions.
5. Integration with internal systems: The company could potentially integrate SearXNG with their intranet or other internal knowledge bases to provide unified search across all company resources.
6. Cost savings: For large organizations, hosting their own search solution could potentially be more cost-effective than paying for enterprise search services.
7. Compliance: Some industries have strict regulations about data handling. A self-hosted solution allows the company to ensure compliance with these regulations.
8. Reduced reliance on third parties: By hosting their own search engine, the company reduces dependency on external service providers.
9. Improved security: The company can implement their own security measures and have greater control over who has access to the search data.

Any data that is created by an organization or an individual has some kind of value. Be aware of the data that is created and if you can don’t give it away so easily.

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