Recommended Free Tools
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
DuckDuckGo, Startpage, and Brave Search are the clearest options if you want search results that are not built from your personal browsing or search history. Each provider describes a different privacy design: DuckDuckGo says it does not save or share search or browsing history; Startpage submits queries anonymously to outside result providers; and Brave Search stores limited, de-identified query data without grouping it by user, device, or IP address.
“Not personalized” does not mean that every person sees identical results, and it does not make you anonymous everywhere online. Language, approximate location, query wording, index coverage, ranking systems, account settings, and optional features can still change a results page. After you click a result or advertisement, the destination website and its tracking partners may collect information independently.
What “not personalized” means
Personalization is the use of a person’s accumulated activity to alter future results. An engine might associate earlier searches, clicks, an account, a device, or a long-lived identifier with later queries and then reorder or select results for that individual. A private search engine aims to break that connection.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →That is different from ordinary search variation. Two people can submit the same words and receive different pages because they use different languages, are in different countries or cities, trigger local intent, reach different index versions, or are served different ranking experiments. Those differences are not necessarily evidence that either person’s browsing history was used.
#1 Best Overall
- Powerful Turbo Fan:CAGIWIRU Electric Air Duster have reached speed up to 130000RPM,Can efficient remove dust and debris.With LED light and Three Adjustable Speed to meet with different cleaning tasks.
- With Attached USB C Fasting Charging cable.Charing 3 hours,Enjoy up to 240 minutes of use on the lowest setting, For third speed can use for 25mins.with four charging options to meet with your needs.
- Wide Application: attached 5 different nozzles,making it suitable for a variety of scenes, such as car,pet, pc, keyboards, and other electronic devices. It also serves for office and home clean duster.
- Handy Design & Portable:Cordless air duster electric nozzle is Light weight and small size, design and comfortable to hold and space saving, convenient to carry around. You can put it in your room or inside the car without taking up space.
- Economical &Reusable: Built durable materials with a long-lasting battery,our CAGIWIRU air duster it's a sustainable alternative to disposable air cans.
- Private handling: the provider says it does not build a personal history that changes your results.
- Result neutrality: everyone receives exactly the same ranking. Private engines do not promise this, and it is not realistic for location-sensitive or language-sensitive searches.
- Anonymity: no party can identify you. Search privacy does not hide your IP address from normal internet routing, your identity from an account you are signed into, or your activity from a site you visit after clicking.
Search engines that say they avoid personal-history profiling
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo’s privacy policy says, “We don’t save or share your search, chat, or browsing history when you search on DuckDuckGo, chat on Duck.ai, or use our apps and extensions.” Its position is that it cannot create an individual search history and therefore cannot use that history to tailor later results.
The service says anonymous queries may be retained in disconnected form to analyze trends and improve its index. That is different from storing a record tied to you, but it is not the same as retaining nothing. DuckDuckGo also explains that an IP address is part of ordinary internet routing. The search service may receive network information needed to deliver a page, while the website you visit after a click has its own privacy policy and tracking practices.
DuckDuckGo says search advertisements are selected from the current results page rather than from a profile of the person searching. It also says local search uses a random nearby location that is not logged to disk. Ads and local results can therefore be relevant without being based on your long-term browsing record.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Startpage
Startpage describes itself as an intermediary. It says it removes personal data at an initial server layer, submits your query anonymously to result providers, receives their feed, and returns a standard results set. Its support explanation says that providers cannot determine your interests from your past search history, so you receive results without that additional personalization.
Rank #2
- Screen Cleaner is Your Screen’s New Bestfriend! - EVEO is proud to present a screen cleaner that’s perfectly suited for your TV. Meet your new screen cleaner, computer screen cleaner, laptop cleaner, iPad cleaner, Macbook,tv cleaner or any other electronic device. Our screen cleaner spray and wipe along with the included plush microfiber cloth, easily removes dust, fingerprints & other smudges on the screen’s surface. Clean effectively for a streak-free screen
- Gentle on your Screens - Our screen cleaner spray and wipes is compatible to be used even for the most sensitive LCD, LED, CRT, and OLED screens in proper use. Be at ease knowing that this product is compatible with all the major brands: LG, SONY, Samsung, Sharp, iPad, iPhone, Android screens, Kindle, PC monitors - we’ve got you covered! Can be used as LCD screen cleaner, tv cleaner, smart tv screen cleaner, and more
- Premium Super Soft Plush Microfiber Cloth - Included in this efficient screen cleaning kit. This screen cleaner spray and wipe has our signature plush microfiber cloth specially designed to comply with screens and monitors and leave them streak-free. Has been shown to effectively absorbs stubborn stains, zero streaks, and no fiber shedding. Always use this together with our screen cleaner for the best results
- Easy-to-Use Screen Cleaner Kit + microfiber cleaning cloth - The EVEO Screen Cleaning Kit will easily be your new favorite tool when it comes to taking care of the things you love most, quick and easy solution for a streak-free screen. Simply screw on the sprayer gun on the screen cleaner bottle. Spray the cleaning liquid onto the microfiber cloth, then wipe the screen until desired cleanliness & shine is achieved.
- Quality Screen Care Kit Worth Purchasing - Enjoy a convenient Screen Cleaner anytime, anywhere you need it. Your satisfaction is our top priority. We stand behind the quality of our products and that’s why, you shouldn’t be worrying at all. We manufacture the Best Screen Cleaner. and can be used for laptop cleaning kit, laptop screen cleaner, tv screen cleaner for smart tv. MacBook screen cleaner, monitor cleaner or screen cleaner spray for electronic devices with microfiber cleaning cloth
Because Startpage obtains a provider’s feed rather than sending your request as an identified direct user, its page can differ from what you would see by visiting that provider yourself. Startpage explicitly notes that the feed supplied to it may not be identical to the provider’s direct results. That difference reflects the service’s architecture and ranking pipeline, not a promise that every Startpage user sees the same page.
Startpage describes result-page advertising as contextual: the ad is related to the query, not a behavioral profile. Its separate Anonymous View feature acts as a proxy when you open a result, reducing the amount of identifying information sent directly to the destination. A proxy does not override the destination’s own policies or make every subsequent interaction anonymous.
Brave Search
Brave Search says it keeps de-identified query data such as the query text, device platform, operating system, country, language, and date. Its privacy notice states: “Search queries are not grouped based on the user, device or IP address the search query originated from.” In practical terms, the service describes aggregate measurement and improvement data without a personal timeline used to reorder your future searches.
Brave says its index is independent, so coverage and ranking can differ from services that license or relay another provider’s index. It offers optional anonymous local results. When that feature is enabled, the device’s broadcast IP can be used to estimate a local area without being shared or stored, according to the notice. Local results will naturally vary by place even when no personal history is involved.
Rank #3
- 【Large size】：Measuring 800 x 300 mm/ 31. 5×12 inches, which is wider and taller than others. Large mouse pad can perfectly fit your keyboard and mouse of any size, and there is also ample space for peripherals such as phones, tablets, etc.
- 【LED backlight mouse pad】：Blade Hawks RGB mouse pad provides 7 static modes and 7 dynamic modes will give you the options you are looking for. Power-off memory function remembers the last lighting mode you selected. The super glow fiber Chroma will give you a colorful gaming setup that you want.
- 【Anti-slip rubber base】：Made from Natural rubber, this gaming mousepad will firmly grip your desktop, allowing you to enjoy the ultimate precision in the games you are most passionate about. It also comes with a texture that enhances this ability even further.
- 【Smooth and waterproof surface】: Micro-textured cloth surface, for extremely precise mouse control and a smooth movement. When liquid splashes on the gaming mouse pad, it forms water droplets and slides down. Will not delay your work or gameplay.
- 【Plug and play】: This mouse and keyboard pad is powered by USB, plug and play, no driver required. One button control light modes. Press one time to change the lighting mode, press twice to change the brightness, press and hold about 3 seconds turn ON/OFF.
Brave also offers optional Google fallback mixing when its own results do not meet expectations. Treat that as a coverage setting, not proof that the normal Brave index is personalized. If you use Ask Brave, the handling is different from a standard query: the notice says a conversation can be processed on Brave’s servers and retained for the conversation, then automatically erased after 24 hours of inactivity.
Comparison at a glance
| Service | What it says about history | Result source | Location and settings | Advertising or post-click notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DuckDuckGo | Says it does not save or share search or browsing history; disconnected anonymous queries may be retained for trend analysis and index improvement. | Its own search service; this article does not establish a current independent quality comparison. | Local search uses a random nearby location that is not logged to disk. | Ads are based on the current results page. A clicked website has separate tracking practices. |
| Startpage | Says it does not retain search history or use a past-history profile for personalization. | An intermediary that anonymously submits queries to other providers; its feed can differ from a direct search. | Anonymous View can proxy visits to result pages. | Ads are described as contextual to the query. The destination can still collect data. |
| Brave Search | Stores de-identified query text and limited context; says queries are not grouped by user, device, or IP. | Independent index, with optional Google fallback mixing. | Optional anonymous local results use a broadcast IP without storing it. | Ask Brave conversations have separate server-retention terms; clicked sites remain independent. |
How to choose among them
Choose by result-source preference
Startpage is the logical fit if you want an intermediary between you and established external result providers. Brave Search is the fit if an independent index matters and you are willing to accept different coverage or ranking. DuckDuckGo is a straightforward general-purpose choice when the main requirement is avoiding a personal search history and receiving contextual rather than profile-based search ads.
Choose by local-search needs
Searches for restaurants, opening hours, nearby services, weather, and addresses are inherently location-sensitive. DuckDuckGo’s random nearby location and Brave’s optional anonymous local mode can produce useful local answers while avoiding a stored personal location history. Disable local features when you want to test non-local results or compare general web coverage.
Choose by how much control you want
- Use Startpage’s Anonymous View when you want an additional proxy step for a particular result.
- Leave Brave’s Google fallback mixing off if you want results only from its independent index; enable it only when coverage is more important than a single-index experience.
- Use ordinary DuckDuckGo search when you want contextual ads and do not need an account-based search history.
Set a private search engine as your default
Changing the default prevents accidental searches through a service that may use an account or history profile. Menu names can move slightly between browser versions, but these are the current desktop paths used by the major browsers.
Rank #4
- 【Softer and More Comfortable】Vaydeer wrist rest has unique diamond pattern, which is the combination of softness and aesthetics. The materials of wrist rest are improved into higher quality memory foam and covered with silky smooth lycra. The computer wrist rest makes you as comfortable and cushiony as like rest your wrists on clouds.
- 【Ergonomic Wrist Saver】The wrist rests for keyboard and mouse comes with a 17.32×3.15×0.83 inch keyboard wrist pad and a 5.94×3.15×0.83 inch mouse wrist support. Based on ergonomic design, the unique concave shape is the perfect fit for your wrist joints. The wrist rest pad fits most computer keyboards and laptops, improve hand and wrist posture, release your wrist and arm stress.
- 【Non-Slip Rubber Bottom】Featuring an anti-skid silicone base on the bottom, this wrist keyboard support stays firmly in place on your desk, preventing the padding from sliding around, ensuring stable and consistent wrist support during extended computer sessions.
- 【Better Experience & Pain Relief】Our keyboard arm rest is beneficial to alleviate the soreness caused by direct contact and friction between your arm and a hard desk surface, reducing the risk of wrist fatigue or carpal tunnel. The soft texture of memory foam can evenly distribute the pressure around your wrists and provide good support with just enough give.
- 【Helpful in Multiple Scenarios】Whether you're working, studying, writing, typing, gaming, this keyboard and mouse rest combo is an essential accessory to add comfort and support to your hands and wrists. It’s also a great gift for men, women, family, friend, coworker, gamer, teacher, etc.
- Chrome: open the three-dot menu, choose Settings, select Search engine, then choose Search engine used in the address bar. Select the service you have added. To add one, open Manage search engines and site search, choose Add, and enter the provider’s search URL exactly as supplied by that provider.
- Firefox: open the menu, choose Settings, select Search, and choose the service under Default Search Engine. Review Search Shortcuts if you want a keyword that sends only selected queries to another engine.
- Edge: open Settings and more, choose Settings, open Privacy, search, and services, scroll to Address bar and search, and select Search engine used in the address bar.
- Safari on macOS: open Safari in the menu bar, choose Settings, select Search, and choose the preferred engine. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Safari > Search Engine.
- Verify the change: open a new window, type a neutral test such as
example searchin the address bar, and check which service receives the request. Do not use a sensitive query for the test.
How to search without your history changing the page
- Do not sign in to a search account unless you need its features. An account can connect searches to a person even when the search provider’s anonymous mode is otherwise strong.
- Use the engine’s normal search page or default address-bar shortcut. Avoid extensions that silently redirect searches through a different provider.
- Separate local and general searches. Turn off anonymous-local features when comparing general web results, and remember that a city, language, or country setting can change rankings without using your browsing history.
- Check the result URL and page branding after every unusual redirect. A browser extension, employer network, school gateway, or security product can alter where a query goes.
- Use a private browsing window only for local browser isolation. Incognito or Private Browsing generally prevents the browser from saving local history after the window closes; it does not prevent the search service, network operator, or destination website from receiving information during the session.
- Compare like with like. Use the same language, country setting, spelling, device type, and query wording. Otherwise you may mistake normal ranking variation for personalization.
What measured studies show about personalization
A 2017 study titled Measuring Personalization of Web Search examined 200 Google users and 100 Bing users. It reported that an average 11.7% of Google results and 15.8% of Bing results differed because of personalization in that study. The amount changed by query and by result rank. The authors reported no noticeable personalization on DuckDuckGo under their test method.
Those percentages are historical, method-specific measurements, not a current universal score for any engine. Search interfaces, ranking systems, account controls, and privacy policies have changed since 2017. The useful lesson is narrower: personal-history signals can measurably change a results page, so a provider’s data-handling design matters when you want a less individualized view.
A separate 2023 measurement study examined privacy risks in search advertising systems for Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Startpage, and Qwant. Across the five engines studied, 93% of sampled destination pages contained a tracker or another privacy-harming resource. The study measured navigation-based tracking on 100% of sampled DuckDuckGo, Google, and Startpage ad clicks, 86% of Qwant clicks, and 4% of Bing clicks.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThese figures concern the tested ad-click paths and samples, not every ordinary search or every destination today. They demonstrate why search privacy and browsing privacy must be treated as separate stages: an engine can avoid building a personal result profile while an advertiser redirect or the page you open still performs tracking.
Best Value
- 【No Drill Mounted】Cable management tray can be assembled in as little as 3 minutes or less-simply. Side clips easily clampe the edge of desk, pass through the holes on the sides, and secure excess cables with baskets. Desk cable management supports inward or outward installation to meet your needs in different scenarios, and provides you with great convenience when collecting and organizing wires.
- 【Rubber Pad Protects Desk】Wire organizer under desk built-in soft rubber pads on the clamp protect your desk from scratches, so you will not damage your furniture or office.
- 【Sturdy and Beautiful】Cord management under desk is made of high-quality carbon steel and holds about 15 lbs. The wire basket has 2 holes on each side of the tray to enable your cables to pass freely. Cable baskets are suitable for desk thickness use from 0.4" to 2.4".
- 【Space Saving & Keep Organized】Desk cable management tray holds all your power cords, outlet strips, USB hubs and computer transformers hidden from your feet, and the data cables will not enter the vacuum cleaner to keep your desk clean and tidy. Desk wire organizer is also suitable for use in the kitchen and outdoors.
- 【Reduce Safety Risks】Cable tray under desk keeps all plugs away from your kids, no more worry about tripping. Using 2 holes wire tray saves extra space, helps you easily cabling and wire protection. The mesh design is not easy to accumulate dust, but avoids safety accidents caused by messy wires.
Common limits and failure modes
“The results look personalized.”
First check language, country, city, device, safe-search settings, and query wording. If you are signed into an account, sign out and repeat the query. Compare the same query in a private window only after confirming that the browser is still using the intended engine.
“The private engine has different or weaker results.”
Different indexes and provider feeds have different coverage. Startpage may receive a feed that differs from a direct provider search; Brave’s independent index may rank pages differently; DuckDuckGo can also present a different ordering. A privacy claim does not guarantee identical relevance or completeness.
“A local result reveals my location.”
Local search requires some location signal. Review the engine’s local-results setting, disable it for general searches, and avoid assuming that a nearby result proves a stored personal profile. Brave describes its anonymous local mode as using a broadcast IP without storing it; DuckDuckGo describes a random nearby location that is not logged to disk.
“A click still shows targeted advertising.”
Search-page privacy ends at the boundary of the search service. Destination pages, ad redirectors, embedded analytics, and other third parties can identify or track a visit. Use a proxy feature where available, inspect redirects, and apply your browser’s tracking protection, but do not treat any of those steps as a guarantee of complete anonymity.
A practical decision checklist
- Do you want an independent index? Start with Brave Search and review whether fallback mixing is enabled.
- Do you want an anonymous intermediary to other providers? Start with Startpage and use Anonymous View selectively.
- Do you want a simple general search service that says it keeps no personal search history and serves contextual ads? Start with DuckDuckGo.
- Do you need local results? Enable only the anonymous-local option you understand, and remember that local ranking is still not the same as personal-history profiling.
- Do you need complete anonymity after clicking? No search engine alone can provide it; destination-site and ad-system behavior must also be considered.
The most accurate expectation is not “everyone sees the same page.” It is “my earlier searches and browsing should not be tied to my identity and used to reshape this search.” DuckDuckGo, Startpage, and Brave Search each describe measures aimed at that goal, while differing in index architecture, local features, advertising, and what happens when you leave the results page.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
