Most people use Google. That’s just the unfortunate reality. What most people don’t understand is the privacy risks that they’re taking when using Google.

Privacy

Your internet searches reveal a lot about your personal life. If your search engine is gathering and storing all of your searches into your “data profile”, the search engine can infer which medical conditions you may have, what vices you may have, or what your specific interests are. Private search engines, like HideMySearches, won’t sacrifice your privacy in exchange for personalization or customization.

Objective & Neutral Search Results

Your data profile lets search engines determine which types of content you’re likely interested in, so they can specifically tailor your search results to your interests.

This becomes especially problematic when you do searches for political issues. If you spend more time on left-leaning news websites, you’re more likely to see these websites in your search results. When you search for a political issue, you may only be shown information from sources that you likely agree with. This is called a “filter bubble” and is responsible for the polarized political climate in the US and around the world.

Less Targeted Advertisements

Since Google owns the largest advertising network in the world, they can use your search terms to help advertisers target you specifically. If you’ve searched for “running shoes” you may notice that you suddenly get display ads on the sites you visit for running shoes.

Private search engines don’t share you search terms with advertisers or influence the display ads you see on the sites you visit. The ads you see on private search engines, above your search results are generally based only on your search term.

Less Tracking

Private search engines main purpose is to deliver useful search results without tracking you. You don’t have to worry about your searches coming back to haunt you in the event of a hack or leak involving Google. With private search engines, your searches won’t be tracked or linked back to your email address or other online accounts.