I live in a country which uses a language I don’t speak but Google defaults to regional results in spite of my language being set to English. All other engines give me really poor results (not that Google was giving good ones, the image search has really gone to shit since they started populating it with AI stuff).

    • amortized_cost@beehaw.org
      3·
      2 years ago

      DuckDuckGo 99% of the time, Google Startpage if I’m having trouble finding something.

      *Note: Startpage uses Google as their source of search result.

    • Faendol@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      2 years ago

      I switched to DuckDuckGo a while ago and haven’t regretted it at all. I honestly barely notice the difference. Realistically I should switch to firefox next but I’m pretty ingrainded in google chrome admittedly.

      • Nolando@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        1·
        2 years ago

        I made the jump a ways back, and it’s only on rare occasions that I find I need to open Brave or Chrome (whichever is installed on my machine at the time) for website compatibility.

      • mynameisnotdoug@beehaw.org
        1·
        2 years ago

        Same. The heavy bias towards Microsoft-centric top hits (thanks, Bing) usually mean when I’m searching for a non-Windows tech answer I go right to !g, but otherwise it’s my default.

    • Vorticity@beehaw.org
      1·
      2 years ago

      I’ve been trying to switch to duckduckgo but I really struggle with the results. I appreciate the privacy angle but I just can’t seem to find what I want about 80% of the time. It’s like it just ignores parts of my query…

    • starship_lizard@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 years ago

      I use duckduckgo with Google as a backup for when what I’m searching for is too specific. I’ve had to use Google less and less lately though

    • MrSangrief@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      Used Duckduckgo for a while, got myself into a spiral of search engine exploration and at some point settled on Startpage for a while…but I just missed the maturity in functionality of Duckduckgo. It just always felt like I was making a usability/productivity sacrifice. So I returned and am still happy … for now :p

  • sapo@beehaw.org
    12·
    2 years ago

    Nothing compares to DuckDuckGo with bangs, which let you change over to any other search engine with two or three characters. I usually use !g (Google), !w (Wikipedia) and !aw (ArchWiki).

  • aski3252@lemmy.ml
    12·
    2 years ago

    Duckduckgo as default. If I need location/region specific stuff, I will sometimes use google.

  • ace@sh.itjust.works
    9·
    2 years ago

    Ecosia. If my searches are going to be used for data mining no matter what, might as well have some trees planted as compensation.

    • Notnotmike@beehaw.org
      3·
      2 years ago

      Glad to see someone representing Ecosia in the thread! I was kind of hoping it’d be more popular

      I also use “Tab for a Cause” as well and love both. It’s nice to feel even just a tiny bit better about my searches

  • The_Digitalfigment@lemmy.ml
    8·
    2 years ago

    I used DuckDuckGo as my default and it works out for me most of the time. Though, were it tends to fall apart is with image searching. When I can’t find what I’m looking for I’ll go to Google and find it pretty quickly.

    • Fox@lemmy.ml
      3·
      2 years ago

      Yes, I also switched to DDG, before there were so many options on the market, and its been more than sufficient since then.

      I have a feeling I’m not utilizing search engies as much as I should, as I only use them to navigate to other websites.

      The built-in conversion tools are really great, and the Wikipedia info-box has saved me many clicks, but aside from this, I really just need a search engine that works, without selling my data to the highest bidder.

      DuckDuckGo is just that for me.

  • OutrageousUmpire@lemmy.world
    7·
    2 years ago

    Brave. It’s interesting getting completely different results than from any of the big players. And the results from Brave are often better.

    • setsneedtofeed@beehaw.org
      3·
      2 years ago

      I use the Brave browser on my phone. The searches are good, but I mainly like that I can watch YouTube without adds, and make the video windowed and even turn off the phone screen while it plays.

  • drowned Phoenician@feddit.de
    7·
    2 years ago

    Duckduckgo. I stpped using google for the privacy stuff but I stayed because of the language switch.

    I don’t know if I tweaked a setting to achieve it, but I have a language switch below the search bar. Google always showed me german results when searching for something english and the other wy around, so I love this feature. Search results are good enough for me, so duckduckgo it is.

  • CliodhnaBaskerville@beehaw.org
    7·
    2 years ago

    DuckDuckGo. I’ve become reliant on the bangs. Regular search not giving me what I want? Just add !g. Want to find a word? !wt. Look up an album? !rym. Just want to search something on YouTube quickly? !yt

    • IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org
      1·
      2 years ago

      How did I not know about bangs til now, I’ve been using DDG for years! I’ve just been relying on the @ codes in the Firefox search bar, which are super limited. Thanks for the tip!

  • edo@beehaw.org
    6·
    2 years ago

    I started using Kagi recently and it’s fantastic. The results have been great, it’s pretty customisable and it uses all the same ! bangs as DuckDuckGo. Don’t feel like I have to use Google at all anymore (which wasn’t the case when I used DDG as my go-to). Plus, since it’s a paid service, there are no ads and no guff.

  • httpjames@sh.itjust.works
    6·
    2 years ago

    Kagi is a great premium alternative. They focus obsessively on search result quality and adding helpful, but non invasive AI tools. One of them is even free as an experiment!