Software:Startpage.com

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Short description: Privacy-focused search engine based in the Netherlands
Startpage
Startpage logo.png
Screenshot
Screenshot of Startpage website.png
Type of site
Search engine
Proxy server
Available inMultilingual
HeadquartersWilhelmina van Pruisenweg 104, The Hague, the Netherlands
OwnerStartpage BV
ParentSurfboard Holding BV
Websitestartpage.com
Launched
  • 1998; 26 years ago (1998) (as Ixquick)
  • 2002; 22 years ago (2002) (as Startpage)

Startpage is a Dutch search engine company that highlights privacy as its distinguishing feature.[1][2]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. Because the company is based in the Netherlands, it is protected by Dutch and European Union privacy laws, and thus is not subject to United States surveillance programs, like PRISM.

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,[3] a subsidiary of System1.

History

Early history

Startpage website in 2011
First Startpage logo, until 2018
Second Startpage logo, until 2021

Ixquick was created in 1998 by David Bodnick in New York City .[4] Initially, it provided metasearch for 14 different web and directory search engines as well as images, news, and MP3 engines.[5] Results were sorted after evaluating how relevant each of the search tools found the query.[6] Surfboard Holding BV, a company based in Zeist, Netherlands, and led by CEO Robert E. G. Beens, acquired Ixquick in 2000.[7] Ixquick was re-launched on 23 March 2005 with new features including a redesigned metasearch algorithm.[4][8]

Startpage.com began as a web directory in 2002[9] and started mirroring Ixquick the following year.[10] On 7 July 2009, the company re-launched Startpage.com to fetch results only from the Google search engine.[11] Prior to the release of Tor Browser version 4.5 in April 2015, Startpage.com was its default search engine.[12]

Merger and recent history

On 29 March 2016, Ixquick.com was merged into the Startpage.com search engine.[13] 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.[14]

In October 2019, Privacy One Group, owned by adtech company System1, acquired a majority stake in Startpage but, according to the company, its "founders may unilaterally reject any potential technical change that could negatively affect user privacy".[15][16] By maintaining its headquarters and operations in the Netherlands, Startpage continues to be protected by Dutch and European Union (EU) privacy laws.[17]

In May 2020, Vivaldi announced that its browser has added Startpage as an optional or default search engine.[18][19]

Privacy protection

On 27 June 2006, following criticism of Google Shopping, the website began to delete private details of its users.[20] Ixquick stated that it does not share the personal information of users with other search engines or with the provider of its sponsored results.[21][22] According to The New York Times ' Wirecutter, Startpage does not store user's personal information or search data.[23] A May 2020 review of the website on ZDNet also states that Startpage "does not track, log, or share data or searching history".[24]

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.[25] The company has also completely ended the recording of user IP addresses since January 2009.[26] 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."[27] 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.[24]

The company also provides a stand-alone proxy service, Startpage.com Proxy, which is incorporated into the Startpage search engine.[28] This feature, known as Anonymous View since 2018, allows users the option to open all search results via proxy.[29][30]

StartMail, founded in 2014 by Startpage CEO Beens, was developed to offer a privacy protecting email service.[31][32] StartMail also allows the creation of disposable and permanent email aliases for each account.[31] 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.[33]

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.[24]

Features

Startpage uses results from Google, for which it pays.[34] As of July 2020, Startpage allow searches in 82 languages,[35] including Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.[36]

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.[37] 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".[38]

References

  1. ↑ EuroPriSe press release, "First European Privacy Seal Awarded", July 14, 2008, EuroPriSe consortium, via Business Wire / Google, Kiel, Germany, retrieved April 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ Privacy.org news article, "EU Awards First Privacy Seal to Online Search Engine Ixquick.com", July 14, 2008, EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center / Privacy International, Washington, D.C., retrieved April 5, 2016.
  3. ↑ Startpage (2019-09-19). "Building a more private internet experience with Privacy One Group". https://www.startpage.com/privacy-please/company-updates/startpage-and-privacy-one-group. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dowdell, Jason (23 March 2005). "IXQuick.com Q & A With David Bodnick & Alex van Eesteren". http://www.marketingshift.com/2005/3/ixquickcom-q-with-david-bodnick-alex.cfm. 
  5. ↑ Bradley, Phil (22 January 2019). "Search Engines: 'Ixquick', a Multi-Search Engine With a Difference". Ariadne (23). http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/23/search-engines/. Retrieved 22 January 2019. 
  6. ↑ "Computer Shopper (November 2000)". 1 November 2000. https://archive.org/details/computer_shopper_2000-11. 
  7. ↑ "Alternative zu Google: Ixquick bzw. Startpage". News.ch. 2013-06-11. http://www.news.ch/Alternative+zu+Google+Ixquick+bzw+Startpage/589462/detail.htm. 
  8. ↑ "New Ixquick International Search Engine Unveiled" www.hventure.nl. March 23, 2005.
  9. ↑ "Startpage.com Homepage". http://www.startpage.com/. 
  10. ↑ "Startpage.com Homepage". http://www.startpage.com/. 
  11. ↑ "What is the difference between StartPage and Ixquick?". 26 July 2015. https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/55/7/when-is-your-startmail-private-email-service-going-to-be-released. 
  12. ↑ "Tor Browser 4.5 is released". blog.torproject.org. https://blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-browser-45-released. 
  13. ↑ "We've streamlined the fight against Big Brother!". Ixquick.com. 30 March 2016. https://ixquick.com/eng/ixquick-merged-with-startpage.html?lmv=1. 
  14. ↑ Alderman, Liz; Tsang, Amie (2017-12-10). "Net Neutrality's Holes in Europe May Offer Peek at Future in U.S." (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/business/net-neutrality-europe-fcc.html. 
  15. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (18 November 2019). "Startpage replies to questions about ownership change". https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/18/startpage-replies-to-questions-about-ownership-change/. 
  16. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (16 November 2019). "Startpage Search owner changes raise serious questions". https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/16/startpage-search-owner-changes-raise-serious-questions/. 
  17. ↑ Sullivan, Laurie (15 January 2020). "Ties Binding Verizon To System1's Startpage Privacy Search Engine" (in en). MediaPost Communications. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345738/ties-binding-verizon-to-system1s-startpage-privac.html. 
  18. ↑ Brown, Eileen. "Startpage private search engine now an option for Vivaldi browser" (in en). https://www.zdnet.com/article/startpage-private-search-engine-now-an-option-for-vivaldi-browser/. 
  19. ↑ Neowin, Paul Hill. "Vivaldi adds Startpage as search option under new agreement" (in en). https://www.neowin.net/news/vivaldi-adds-startpage-as-search-option-under-new-agreement. 
  20. ↑ "Ixquick.com Eliminates 'Big Brother'". biz.yahoo.com. 27 June 2006. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060627/20060627005367.html?.v=1. 
  21. ↑ Greenberg, Andy (February 15, 2008). "The Privacy Paradox". Forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/2008/02/15/search-privacy-ask-tech-security-cx_ag_0215search.html. 
  22. ↑ "Ixquick: Privacy Policy"
  23. ↑ Klosowski, Thorin (2020-07-13). "Our Favorite Ad Blockers and Browser Extensions to Protect Privacy" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/our-favorite-ad-blockers-and-browser-extensions-to-protect-privacy/. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Brown, Eileen (21 May 2020). "Startpage private search engine now an option for Vivaldi browser" (in en). https://www.zdnet.com/article/startpage-private-search-engine-now-an-option-for-vivaldi-browser/. 
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ Duncan, Geoff (28 January 2010). "StartPage Search Engine Offers Anonymous Web Browsing". https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/startpage-search-engine-offers-anonymous-web-browsing/. 
  27. ↑ "StartPage to drop Yahoo from search results" (in en-GB). belfasttelegraph. 17 October 2016. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/technology/startpage-to-drop-yahoo-from-search-results-35138188.html. 
  28. ↑ Bradley, Phil (2017) (in en). Expert Internet Searching: Fifth edition. Facet Publishing. pp. 84. ISBN 978-1-78330-247-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=0hcpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA84. 
  29. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (25 October 2018). "Preview of the new Startpage.com". https://www.ghacks.net/2018/10/25/preview-of-the-new-startpage-com/. 
  30. ↑ Spadafora, Anthony (29 November 2018). "Privacy search engine Startpage launches anonymous browsing feature" (in en). https://www.techradar.com/news/privacy-search-engine-startpage-launches-anonymous-browsing-feature. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Getting started on StartMail - part one" (in en-US). 2014-04-21. http://techwirenews.com/2014/04/21/getting-started-on-startmail-part-one/. 
  32. ↑ Benson, Thor. "Russia just blocked its citizens from using ProtonMail" (in en). https://www.inverse.com/innovation/russia-just-blocked-its-citizens-from-using-protonmail. 
  33. ↑ "PGP Encryption Inventor To Advise StartPage Search Engine" (in en). https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/320251/pgp-encryption-inventor-to-advise-startpage-search.html. 
  34. ↑ Startpage B.V.. "StartPage". www.startpage.com. https://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." 
  35. ↑ "Feature Request: Can you add my interface language?". 21 July 2020. https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/en/Knowledgebase/Article/View/169/0/feature-request-can-you-add-my-interface-language. 
  36. ↑ "Settings". https://www.startpage.com/search/settings. 
  37. ↑ Sullivan, Laurie (21 November 2019). "Bing Feeds News Through Privacy Search Engine, Ensures User Anonymity" (in en). MediaPost Communications. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/343662/bing-feeds-news-through-privacy-search-engine-ens.html. 
  38. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (21 November 2019). "Startpage launches News tab to help users escape filter bubbles". https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/21/startpage-launches-news-tab-to-help-users-escape-filter-bubbles/. 

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