Startpage.com explained

Startpage
Collapsible:y
Language:Multilingual
Type:Search engine
Proxy server
Owner:Startpage BV
Parent:Surfboard Holding BV
Headquarters:Wilhelmina van Pruisenweg 104, The Hague, the Netherlands

Startpage is a Dutch search engine company that highlights privacy as its distinguishing feature.[1] [2] [3] The website advertises that it allows users to obtain Google Search results while protecting users' privacy by not storing personal information or search data and removing all trackers. Startpage.com also includes an Anonymous View browsing feature that allows users the option to open search results via proxy for increased anonymity.[4]

Startpage.com began as a sister company of Ixquick, a metasearch engine founded in 1998. The two websites were merged in 2016. In October 2019, Startpage received a significant investment from Privacy One Group,[5] a subsidiary of System1.

History

Early history

Ixquick was created in 1998 by David Bodnick in New York City.[6] Initially, it provided metasearch for 14 different web and directory search engines as well as images, news, and MP3 engines.[7] Results were sorted after evaluating how relevant each of the search tools found the query.[8] Surfboard Holding BV, a company based in Zeist, Netherlands, and led by CEO Robert E. G. Beens, acquired Ixquick in 2000.[9] Ixquick was re-launched on 23 March 2005 with new features including a redesigned metasearch algorithm.[10]

Startpage.com began as a web directory in 2002[11] and started mirroring Ixquick the following year.[12] On 7 July 2009, the company re-launched Startpage.com to fetch results only from the Google search engine.[13] Prior to the release of Tor Browser version 4.5 in April 2015, Startpage.com was its default search engine.[14]

Merger and recent history

On 29 March 2016, Ixquick.com was merged into the Startpage.com search engine.[15] As of 2017, Startpage fields an estimated 2 billion searches. The company was one of 200 European companies that opposed the F.C.C. implementation of policies ending net neutrality.[16]

In October 2019, Privacy One Group, owned by adtech company System1, acquired a majority stake in Startpage. An initial lack of transparency surrounding the deal caused some concern among privacy researchers, leading to its removal from the PrivacyTools review website.[17] [18] After responding to questions from PrivacyTools team members, Startpage was able to clarify that the acquisition would not impact their privacy-focused mission, and its recommendation was ultimately restored.[19] [20] According to the company, its "founders may unilaterally reject any potential technical change that could negatively affect user privacy".[21] [22] By maintaining its headquarters and operations in the Netherlands, Startpage continues to be protected by Dutch and European Union (EU) privacy laws.[23]

In May 2020, Vivaldi announced that its browser had added Startpage as an optional or default search engine.[24] [25]

Products

On 27 June 2006, following criticism of Google Shopping, the website began to delete private details of its users.[26] Ixquick stated that it does not share the personal information of users with other search engines or with the provider of its sponsored results.[27] [28] According to The New York Times' Wirecutter, Startpage does not store user's personal information or search data.[29] A May 2020 review of the website on ZDNet also states that Startpage "does not track, log, or share data or searching history".[30]

In 2011, Startpage received the European Privacy Seal, a European Union–sponsored initiative that indicates compliance with EU laws and regulations on data security and privacy through a series of design and technical audits. It was re-certified in 2013 and 2015.[31] The company has also completely ended the recording of user IP addresses since January 2009.[32] Because Startpage is based in the Netherlands, it is also "not subject to US laws like the Patriot Act, and cannot be forced to comply with US dragnet surveillance programs, like PRISM."[33] Startpage has also contributed €20,000 to NOYB, the non-profit organization founded by Max Schrems, which is committed to launching strategic court cases and media initiatives in support of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.

The company also provides a stand-alone proxy service, Startpage.com Proxy, which is incorporated into the Startpage search engine.[34] This feature, known as Anonymous View since 2018, allows users the option to open all search results (except advertisements) via the proxy.[35] [36]

StartMail

StartMail, founded in 2014 by Startpage CEO Beens, was developed to offer a privacy protecting email service.[37] [38] StartMail also allows the creation of disposable and permanent email aliases for each account.[37] Phil Zimmermann, the inventor of the PGP encryption system who Startpage hired in 2018 to advise the company on privacy technology, has also helped develop StartMail's PGP-encrypted email service.[39]

Since Startpage.com does not collect user data, it does not serve targeted advertising based on user data history. The company generates revenue from its search engine by providing contextual advertising based on the keyword used to perform a search.

Features

Startpage uses results from Google, for which it pays.[40] As of July 2020, Startpage allows searches in 82 languages,[41] including Bengali, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.[42]

The website has tabs for web searches as well as tabs for image and video searches. In November 2019, Startpage added a tab for news.[43] According to the company, news searches are "not curated or personalized" and "every user who looks up the same term at the same time gets the same news".[44]

In June 2022, the company added "Instant Answers", a feature that displays information directly on the search engine for topics such as weather, maps and Wikipedia. Unlike Google, Startpage doesn't offer "featured snippets", which are answers extracted directly from relevant websites. In contrast, Startpage's "Instant Answers" only get information from a dozen websites.[45]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2008-07-13 . First European Privacy Seal Awarded . https://web.archive.org/web/20170910172620/http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080714005501&newsLang=en. 2017-09-10. 2022-03-13 . Businesswire.com.
  2. Web site: EU Awards First Privacy Seal to Online Search Engine Ixquick.com . 2022-03-13 . privacy.org.
  3. ExpressVPN.com, "Free Search Engines: What You're Looking For?", 19 January 2015, retrieved 5 April 2016.
  4. Web site: How does Anonymous View work? - Startpage.com Support . 2022-03-01 . support.startpage.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20220301211725/https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/en/Knowledgebase/Article/View/117/0/how-does-anonymous-view-work. 1 March 2022. dead.
  5. Web site: Startpage. 19 September 2019. Building a more private internet experience with Privacy One Group. 29 December 2020. Startpage.com.
  6. Web site: Dowdell. Jason. 23 March 2005. IXQuick.com Q & A With David Bodnick & Alex van Eesteren. 22 January 2019. Marketing Shift. 21 August 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060821225505/http://www.marketingshift.com/2005/3/ixquickcom-q-with-david-bodnick-alex.cfm. dead.
  7. Search Engines: 'Ixquick', a Multi-Search Engine With a Difference. Phil. Bradley. 22 January 2019. Ariadne. 23. 22 January 2019. www.ariadne.ac.uk.
  8. Web site: Computer Shopper (November 2000). 1 November 2000. 22 January 2019. Internet Archive.
  9. News: 11 June 2013. Alternative zu Google: Ixquick bzw. Startpage. News.ch. 14 September 2020.
  10. "New Ixquick International Search Engine Unveiled" www.hventure.nl. 23 March 2005.
  11. Web site: Startpage.com Homepage. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20020401173000/http://www.startpage.com/. 1 April 2002. 17 August 2020. Startpage.
  12. Web site: Startpage.com Homepage. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030209035810/http://www.startpage.com/. 9 February 2003. 17 August 2020. Startpage.
  13. Web site: 26 July 2015. What is the difference between StartPage and Ixquick?. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160208011605/https://support.startpage.com/index.php?%2FKnowledgebase%2FArticle%2FView%2F103%2F0%2Fwhat-is-the-difference-between-startpage-and-ixquick. 8 February 2016. 7 August 2013. Startpage Support Center.
  14. Web site: Tor Browser 4.5 is released. 16 September 2015. blog.torproject.org.
  15. Web site: We've streamlined the fight against Big Brother!. 5 April 2016. Ixquick.com. 30 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160416103904/https://www.ixquick.eu/eng/press/startpage-and-ixquick-join-forces.html?hmb=1. 16 April 2016.
  16. News: Alderman. Liz. Tsang. Amie. 10 December 2017. Net Neutrality's Holes in Europe May Offer Peek at Future in U.S.. en-US. The New York Times. 17 August 2020. 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: Leonard . John . 2020-01-13 . Escape from Google: 12 privacy-promoting search engines reviewed . 2023-03-25 . . en.
  18. Web site: PrivacyTools beveelt Startpage niet meer aan na onduidelijkheid over investering . 2023-03-25 . Tweakers . NL.
  19. Web site: 2020-07-03 . Privacy-focused search engine Startpage gives more details of the System1 investment . 2023-03-25 . www.computing.co.uk . en.
  20. Web site: 2020-05-04 . Startpage relisted on PrivacyTools as a recommended private search engine . 2023-03-25 . Startpage.com Blog.
  21. Web site: Brinkmann. Martin. 18 November 2019. Startpage replies to questions about ownership change. 17 August 2020. Ghacks.
  22. Web site: Brinkmann. Martin. 16 November 2019. Startpage Search owner changes raise serious questions. 17 August 2020. Ghacks.
  23. Web site: Sullivan. Laurie. 15 January 2020. Ties Binding Verizon To System1's Startpage Privacy Search Engine. 17 August 2020. InsidePerformance. MediaPost Communications. en.
  24. Web site: Brown. Eileen. Startpage private search engine now an option for Vivaldi browser. 14 September 2020. ZDNet. en.
  25. Web site: Neowin. Paul Hill. Vivaldi adds Startpage as search option under new agreement. 14 September 2020. Neowin. en.
  26. News: 27 June 2006. Ixquick.com Eliminates 'Big Brother'. biz.yahoo.com.
  27. News: Greenberg. Andy. 15 February 2008. The Privacy Paradox. Forbes.com. 12 September 2009.
  28. "Ixquick: Privacy Policy"
  29. News: Klosowski. Thorin. 13 July 2020. Our Favorite Ad Blockers and Browser Extensions to Protect Privacy. en-US. The New York Times. 17 August 2020. 0362-4331.
  30. Web site: Brown. Eileen. 21 May 2020. Startpage private search engine now an option for Vivaldi browser. 17 August 2020. ZDNet. en.
  31. Ixquick.eu press release, "EuroPriSe: Privacy-friendly Internet search with Ixquick and Startpage reaffirmed", 20 July 2015, Surfboard Holding B.V., Bonn, Germany, on Ixquick.eu website, retrieved 5 April 2016.
  32. Web site: Duncan. Geoff. 28 January 2010. StartPage Search Engine Offers Anonymous Web Browsing. 17 August 2020. Digital Trends.
  33. News: StartPage to drop Yahoo from search results. en-GB. belfasttelegraph. 14 September 2020. 17 October 2016. 0307-1235.
  34. Book: Bradley, Phil. Expert Internet Searching: Fifth edition. 2017. Facet Publishing. 978-1-78330-247-5. 84. en.
  35. Web site: Brinkmann. Martin. 25 October 2018. Preview of the new Startpage.com. 17 August 2020. Ghacks.
  36. Web site: Spadafora. Anthony. 29 November 2018. Privacy search engine Startpage launches anonymous browsing feature. 17 August 2020. TechRadar. en.
  37. Web site: Aitken. Alastair. 21 April 2014. Getting started on StartMail - part one. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411144851/http://techwirenews.com/2014/04/21/getting-started-on-startmail-part-one/. 11 April 2021. 29 September 2021. Tech Wire News. en-US.
  38. Web site: Benson. Thor. Russia just blocked its citizens from using ProtonMail. 14 September 2020. Inverse. en.
  39. Web site: PGP Encryption Inventor To Advise StartPage Search Engine. 14 September 2020. MediaPost. en.
  40. Web site: StartPage. 3 February 2019. Startpage B.V. . www.startpage.com. You can’t beat Google when it comes to online search. So we’re paying them to use their brilliant search results in order to remove all trackers and logs. The result: The world’s best and most private search engine. Only now you can search without ads following you around, recommending products you’ve already bought. And no more data mining by companies with dubious intentions. We want you to dance like nobody’s watching and search like nobody’s watching.. https://web.archive.org/web/20190131231829/https://www.startpage.com/. 31 January 2019.
  41. Web site: 21 July 2020. Feature Request: Can you add my interface language?. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200914133609/https://support.startpage.com/index.php?%2Fen%2FKnowledgebase%2FArticle%2FView%2F169%2F0%2Ffeature-request-can-you-add-my-interface-language. 14 September 2020. 14 September 2020. support.startpage.com.
  42. Web site: Settings. 14 September 2020. www.startpage.com. 2 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190102095710/https://www.startpage.com/search/settings. dead.
  43. Web site: Sullivan. Laurie. 21 November 2019. Bing Feeds News Through Privacy Search Engine, Ensures User Anonymity. 17 August 2020. Search & Performance Marketing Daily. MediaPost Communications. en.
  44. Web site: Brinkmann. Martin. 21 November 2019. Startpage launches News tab to help users escape filter bubbles. 17 August 2020. Ghacks.
  45. Web site: 3 June 2022 . Instant Answers . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220604075804/https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/5319208151444-Instant-Answers . 4 June 2022 . 27 September 2022. Startpage.com . Startpage (owned by System 1).

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