.Com TLD startpage.com

startpage.com

October 29, 2025

What is Startpage.com

Startpage is a search engine designed around privacy — it aims to let you search the web without being tracked or profiled. Founded in 2006 in the Netherlands (though its origins date back to 1998 under the name Ixquick), it offers search results similar to those from Google Search (or other major search engines) while hiding your identity. (Wikipedia)

Startpage calls itself “the world’s most private search engine.” By design, it does not log your IP address, save your search history, or store identifying information about you. (www.startpage.com)

It’s operated by a company in The Hague, Netherlands — Surfboard Holding BV — which is owned by System1, a US-based firm. (Startpage Support)

How Startpage Works & What Makes It Different

  • Anonymous search queries — When you enter a search term, Startpage submits your query on your behalf, without passing along your IP or personal identifiers. The search engine returns results stripped of tracking or profiling. (www.startpage.com)

  • Strong encryption — Connections between your browser and Startpage are encrypted using TLS/SSL, and the system uses Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). This helps prevent interception even by ISPs or malicious actors. (www.startpage.com)

  • No tracking, no storage of personal data — Startpage does not collect or store IP addresses, search history, or cookies that tie searches to you. (www.startpage.com)

  • Anonymous browsing via “Anonymous View” — Beyond just search, when you click a result, you can choose to open the page via a built-in proxy. That way, the target website sees the request coming from Startpage — not your actual device or IP. (www.startpage.com)

  • Un-personalized search results — Because Startpage doesn’t build a profile on you, every user searching for the same term at roughly the same time will see roughly the same results. That means no tailoring of ads or page rankings based on your history. (Wikipedia)

In other words: Startpage tries to separate you as a user from your searches, giving you web results while hiding who you are.

Key Features & Offerings

A Bit of History

  • The project began in 1998 under the name Ixquick, initially as a meta-search engine aggregating results from many search engines. (Wikipedia)

  • Ixquick was acquired by Surfboard Holding BV (a Dutch company) in 2000. (Wikipedia)

  • In 2009, Startpage.com was relaunched to act as a privacy-oriented interface mainly for Google-provided results — so users could get reliable search quality without giving up privacy. (Wikipedia)

  • After acquisition by System1 (via Privacy One Group) in 2019, Startpage remained headquartered and technically operated from the Netherlands — meaning European data-protection laws apply. The company says its privacy mission remains intact, despite concerns from some privacy-advocacy communities at the time. (Wikipedia)

  • Over time, new features such as “Anonymous View” and “Instant Answers” were added — expanding its utility while maintaining its core privacy stance. (www.startpage.com)

Pros & Cons — What Works, What to Watch Out For

✅ Pros

  • Strong privacy by default: no logs, no tracking, no IP storage.

  • Anonymous browsing: the proxy-based “Anonymous View” hides you from destination websites.

  • Clean, un-personalized results — much less risk of filter bubbles or behavioral ad targeting.

  • Familiar search quality — because it uses Google results (or similar), the relevancy and breadth are comparable to major search engines.

  • Easy to adopt — you can switch default search engine in common browsers with little effort.

⚠️ Limitations / Trade-offs

  • No personalization — some people like tailored results (e.g. local news, suggestions) from engines; Startpage won’t do that.

  • Ads still appear — but based only on the current query, not on your browsing history. (Search Engine Journal)

  • Not all downstream websites stay anonymous — once you click through and leave Startpage’s proxy, their privacy depends on the website’s own policies. (www.startpage.com)

  • Because Startpage relies on Google or other engines for indexing, they’re subject to the same biases or limitations of that underlying search index (e.g. global coverage, SEO influence) — though without the profiling layer.

Who Might Benefit from Using Startpage

  • People concerned about online tracking, tracking cookies, or behavioral profiling.

  • Journalists, researchers, or anyone doing sensitive online searches and wanting to hide identifying data.

  • Users in jurisdictions or contexts where they prefer minimal digital footprints or want to avoid personalized ads.

  • Anyone who likes the comprehensiveness of Google-like results but dislikes the privacy trade-offs that come with it.

Key Takeaways

  • Startpage offers a “private search engine” alternative: strong encryption, no tracking, no history logging.

  • It returns high-quality search results (since it proxies Google results) but without building user profiles.

  • Anonymous View gives added anonymity when browsing sites from search results.

  • It’s a trade-off: you lose personalization, but gain privacy and fewer targeted ads.

  • For many users — especially privacy-conscious ones — Startpage can be a useful middle ground between high-quality search and data protection.

FAQ

Q: Is Startpage really private — can they still track me?
A: According to their privacy policy, Startpage doesn’t store IP addresses, search history, or personal data. They use encryption and proxy browsing for anonymity. (www.startpage.com)

Q: Are the search results as good as Google’s?
A: Generally yes — because Startpage proxies Google’s (or other major engines’) results. So you get similar relevance and coverage without the tracking. (Wikipedia)

Q: Do I still see ads when I use Startpage?
A: Yes. But ads are based on the search terms alone — not on your personal browsing history or profiling. (Search Engine Journal)

Q: Does Startpage offer anything beyond search?
A: They offer “Anonymous View” (proxy-based browsing), and support for image, video, and news search. They recently added “Instant Answers” (for weather, definitions, maps) too. (www.startpage.com)

Q: Should I switch from Google to Startpage?
A: If you value privacy, want to reduce tracking and profiling, and don’t care about personalized results, then yes — Startpage is a solid alternative. If you rely heavily on customization or local personalization, then the trade-offs may matter to you.