this post was submitted on 23 May 2024
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Update: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-outage-affects-bing-copilot-duckduckgo-and-chatgpt-internet-search/

It's also important to note that ChatGPT internet search and DuckDuckGo are experiencing similar issues because they use the Bing API.

UPDATE 2

20240523_210619

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (62 children)

Okay.

Now that we already know we are pretty much at the hands of one pupeteer, what options are there?

I already read about Kagi (apologies if mispelled) but I like to write as a hobby and 300 searches per month go fast.

What other options are there?

Edit:

For those who may be arriving now:

  • Kagi seems to be a good option for an alternative search engine; it is a paid service, for which I don't have the €€€ right now. Many speak very well about it.
  • SearXNG is a thing as well, to my understanding a decentralized search system. Worth the try, in my opinion. If it's something that is decentralized, it is worthy to support and divulge.
  • There is mojeek.com, supposedly not very good but any option that goes against the monopoly is worth the try! I'm going to try this one.
  • Brave.com is an option but is a bit shady.
  • You should try Ecosia if you want to support reforestation efforts. Read somewhere in the thread it is part of the Bing ecosystem.
  • Yep is a thing as well. Somewhere in the thread, a lemmy points they use the search results for AI trainning. So... That is that.
  • And it seems there is a search engine by the name of dogpile.com.
  • Startpage is another search engine (portal?) suggested by another user. I've used it before and like it. Read somewhere it somehow piped a standard google search but removed tracking and ads.
  • and I just remembered Presearch.com. This is a really shady one (crypto warning!) that I suspect is a fork/collab with Brave Browser. I've used it, they have reward-per-search reward system (or had) where they give you crypto for every search. Good results, some that don't come up neither on DDG nor Google.

p.p.s Should I start categorizing these from "shady" to "worthy"?

p.p.s 2 Does anyone remember StumbleUpon? I know it was never a search engine to begin with but it was the best source of good internet content I ever got acquainted to.

Can we get something like that back?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (18 children)

Brave search is independent. It was trained with google search but now it’s a thing of its own and doesn’t rely on google. I switched from DuckDuckGo a year ago and haven’t looked back

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago (12 children)

Brave search is run by crypto bros. I’d rather use Kagi or DDG or even Google.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I would use Kagi if it was free. It might be run by crypto bros but doesn’t mean it’s a bad product. Google and bing own 99% of the search engine market. Competition that doesn’t rely on those two is always good

[–] [email protected] 21 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Well they were dishonest about the product behavior in multiple cases, such as adding referral links to search results. That makes it a bad product.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

That is a much better argument. But I still use it because I finally get different results from bing or Google.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I agree they were, but that’s the benefits of open source you can call out companies for doing stupid shit. Just like when Mozilla adds unnecessary telemetry.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Brave products are not open source. Not their search, and not the browser. Your post wording seems to imply that it is.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Never knew that, thanks for the correction.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I know the search is not but I thought the browser was on GitHub

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I stand corrected!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Lumping in Bing with Google is just unfair. Google controls like 90% of search. Bing is ~3.5%. Choosing duck duck go and helping that 3.5% is wayyyy better of a choice than supporting crypto bros.

https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Personally I don’t want to support Microsoft bing either. This website you shared doesn’t lump together all the bing using search engines (DuckDuckGo and yahoo). How is supporting Microsoft a wayyy better choice. This isn’t some pump and dump scheme. Your criticism should be of the company (they added referall links to their browser and the owner has some nasty political takes on top of running another privacy invasive company).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

It does not matter if it lumps them together or not. Google still has 90% and they’re not Bing. Yandax another ~3% and they’re not Bing. That means at max Bing is 7% if you combine the rest. 3.5% vs 7% does not change the root of my argument.

Those points you make against Brave are valid though. I just run into too many people who are in the Brave cult and it’s concerning.

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