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Why use a private instance?

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Public instances are open to everyone who has access to their URL. Usually, they +are operated by unknown parties (from the users’ point of view). Private +instances can be used by a select group of people, such as a SearXNG instance for a +group of friends, or a company which can be accessed through a VPN. Instances can also be +single-user instances, which run locally on the user’s machine.

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To gain more insight on how these instances work, let’s dive into how SearXNG +protects its users.

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How does SearXNG protect privacy?

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SearXNG protects the privacy of its users in multiple ways, regardless of the type +of the instance (private or public). Removal of private data from search requests +comes in three forms:

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  1. Removing private data from requests going to search services

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  2. Not forwarding anything from third party services through search services +(e.g. advertisement)

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  3. Removing private data from requests going to the results pages

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Removing private data means not sending cookies to external search engines and +generating a random browser profile for every request. Thus, it does not matter +if a public or private instance handles the request, because it is anonymized in +both cases. The IP address used will be the IP of the instance, but SearXNG can also be +configured to use proxy or Tor. Result proxy is supported, too.

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SearXNG does not serve ads or tracking content, unlike most search services. Therefore, +private data is not forwarded to third parties who might monetize it. Besides +protecting users from search services, both the referring page and search query are +hidden from the results pages being visited.

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What are the consequences of using public instances?

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If someone uses a public instance, they have to trust the administrator of that +instance. This means that the user of the public instance does not know whether +their requests are logged, aggregated, and sent or sold to a third party.

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Also, public instances without proper protection are more vulnerable to abuse of +the search service, which may cause the external service to enforce +CAPTCHAs or to ban the IP address of the instance. Thus, search requests would return less +results.

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I see. What about private instances?

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If users run their own instances, everything is in their +control: the source code, logging settings and private data. Unknown instance +administrators do not have to be trusted.

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Furthermore, as the default settings of their instance are editable, there is no +need to use cookies to tailor SearXNG to their needs and preferences will not +reset to defaults when clearing browser cookies. As settings are stored on +the user’s computer, they will not be accessible to others as long as their computer is +not compromised.

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Conclusion

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Always use an instance which is operated by people you trust. The privacy +features of SearXNG are available to users no matter what kind of instance they +use.

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For those on the go, or just wanting to try SearXNG for the first time, public +instances are the best choice. Public instances are also making the +world a better place by giving those who cannot, or do not want to, run an +instance access to a privacy-respecting search service.

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