I suspect that this is the direct result of AI generated content just overwhelming any real content.
I tried ddg, google, bing, quant, and none of them really help me find information I want these days.
Perplexity seems to work but I don’t like the idea of AI giving me “facts” since they are mostly based on other AI posts
ETA: someone suggested SearXNG and after using it a bit it seems to be much better compared to ddg and the rest.
If you think paying means you aren’t still the product, I have news for you.
I don’t need my search history tied directly to a means of payment, and not because I search for illicit stuff, but because I don’t need an advertising profile built on me that is absolutely tied to me now, because I paid for it.
If Kagi doesn’t turn out to be selling that info in a year or two, I’ll eat a bug.
I pay anonymously through crypto accounts. It’s easy and I can open new Kagi accounts if I want. I’m saving a beetle for you.
Exactly. A paid search engine is a privacy nightmare, and you have zero guarantees that they don’t monetize you one way or another in addition to the subscription fee.
You want to compare the hard evidence on abuse between paid search engines and unpaid search engines? I’m happy to work through that data with you.