Startpage.com

Startpage is a web search engine that highlights privacy as its distinguishing feature.[2][3][4] Previously, it was known as the metasearch engine Ixquick,[5] At that time, Startpage was a variant service. Both sites were merged in 2016.

Startpage
Screenshot
Type of site
Search engine
Proxy service
Available inMultilingual
HeadquartersWilhemina van Pruisenweg 104, The Hague, the Netherlands
OwnerStartpage BV
ParentSurfboard Holding BV
URLstartpage.com
Alexa rank 1,707 (14 May 2019)[1]
Launched
  • 1998 (1998) (as Ixquick)
  • 2002 (2002) (as Startpage)

Ixquick was founded by David Bodnick in 1998 and has been owned by Startpage B.V., based in the Netherlands, since acquiring the internet company in 2000.[6] In October 2019, Startpage received a significant investment from Privacy One Group, a subsidiary of System1.

History

Early history
Startpage website in 2011
Former Startpage logo, until 2018

Ixquick was created in 1998 by David Bodnick in New York City.[7] Initially, it provided metasearch for 14 different web and directory search engines as well as images, news, and MP3 engines.[8] Results were sorted after evaluating how relevant each of the search tools found the query.[9] The Dutch company, Surfboard Holding BV, based in Zeist, purchased Ixquick in 2000 (it would change its name to Startpage BV in 2013).[10] Ixquick was re-launched on 23 March 2005 with new features including a redesigned metasearch algorithm, an international telephone and lowest-price directory.[11]

Startpage.com began as a web directory in 2002[12] and started mirroring Ixquick the following year.[13] On 7 July 2009, the company re-launched Startpage.com to fetch results only from the Google search engine.[14]

Merger and recent history

On 29 March 2016, Ixquick.com was officially "merged" with the same company's Startpage search engine [15] (a search engine with the privacy features of Ixquick, but using only Google search results).[16] Now, users entering Ixquick.com are automatically re-routed to Startpage.com. Ixquick had long declared on its sites that it operated in compliance with European Union privacy standards and it retained its original European search engine, Ixquick.eu,[4] until about April 2018 when it was also redirected to Startpage.com.

Prior to the release of Tor Browser version 4.5, Startpage.com was its default search engine.[17] 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.[18]

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".[19][20] By maintaining its headquarters and operations in the Netherlands, Startpage continues to be protected by Dutch and European Union (EU) privacy laws.[21]

Privacy protection

On 27 June 2006, following criticism of Google Shopping, the website began to delete private details of its users.[22] Ixquick has stated that it does not share the personal information of users with other search engines or with the provider of its sponsored results.[23][24] According to The New York Times' Wirecutter, Startpage does not store user's personal information or search data.[25] A May 2020 review of the website on ZDNet also states that Startpage "does not track, log, or share data or searching history".[26]

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.[27] The company has also completely ended the recording of user IP addresses since January 2009.[28]

The company also provides a stand-alone proxy service, Startpage.com Proxy, which is incorporated into the Startpage search engine.[29] This feature, known as Anonymous View since 2018, allows users the option to open all search results via proxy.[30][31] The company also has developed a privacy-protecting email service, called StartMail.[32] This service was released to the public in 2014.[33]

Features

Startpage web search uses results from Google, for which the company pays Google.[34] Startpage can search in 17 languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

The website has tabs for web searches as well as tabs for image and video searches. In November 2019, Startpage add a tab for news.[35] 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".[36]

References
  1. "Startpage.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. EuroPriSe press release, "First European Privacy Seal Awarded", July 14, 2008, EuroPriSe consortium, via Business Wire / Google, Kiel, Germany, retrieved April 5, 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. ExpressVPN.com, "Free Search Engines: What You're Looking For?", 19 January 2015, retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. "Ixquick Search". www.metamend.com.
  6. "New Ixquick International Search Engine Unveiled" www.hventure.nl. March 23, 2005.
  7. Dowdell, Jason (23 March 2005). "IXQuick.com Q & A With David Bodnick & Alex van Eesteren". Marketing Shift. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  8. Bradley, Phil (22 January 2019). "Search Engines: 'Ixquick', a Multi-Search Engine With a Difference". Ariadne (23). Retrieved 22 January 2019 – via www.ariadne.ac.uk.
  9. "Computer Shopper (November 2000)". 1 November 2000. Retrieved 22 January 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  10. drimble.nl. "Startpage". drimble.nl. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  11. "IXQuick.com Q & A With David Bodnick & Alex van Eesteren". www.marketingshift.com. 23 March 2005.
  12. "Startpage.com Homepage". Startpage. Archived from the original on 1 April 2002. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  13. "Startpage.com Homepage". Startpage. Archived from the original on 9 February 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  14. "What is the difference between StartPage and Ixquick?". Startpage Support Center. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  15. "We've streamlined the fight against Big Brother!". Ixquick.com. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  16. Ixquick.eu press release, "StartPage and Ixquick Join Forces in the Fight Against Big Brother", 30 March 2016, Surfboard Holding B.V., Zeist, The Netherlands, on Ixquick.eu website, retrieved 5 April 2016.
  17. "Tor Browser 4.5 is released". blog.torproject.org. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  18. Alderman, Liz; Tsang, Amie (2017-12-10). "Net Neutrality's Holes in Europe May Offer Peek at Future in U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  19. Brinkmann, Martin (18 November 2019). "Startpage replies to questions about ownership change". Ghacks. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  20. Brinkmann, Martin (16 November 2019). "Startpage Search owner changes raise serious questions". Ghacks. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  21. Sullivan, Laurie (15 January 2020). "Ties Binding Verizon To System1's Startpage Privacy Search Engine". InsidePerformance. MediaPost Communications. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  22. "Ixquick.com Eliminates 'Big Brother'". biz.yahoo.com. 27 June 2006.
  23. Greenberg, Andy (February 15, 2008). "The Privacy Paradox". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  24. "Ixquick: Privacy Policy"
  25. Klosowski, Thorin (2020-07-13). "Our Favorite Ad Blockers and Browser Extensions to Protect Privacy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  26. Brown, Eileen (21 May 2020). "Startpage private search engine now an option for Vivaldi browser". ZDNet. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  27. 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.
  28. Duncan, Geoff (28 January 2010). "StartPage Search Engine Offers Anonymous Web Browsing". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  29. Bradley, Phil (2017). Expert Internet Searching: Fifth edition. Facet Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-78330-247-5.
  30. Brinkmann, Martin (25 October 2018). "Preview of the new Startpage.com". Ghacks. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  31. Spadafora, Anthony (29 November 2018). "Privacy search engine Startpage launches anonymous browsing feature". TechRadar. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  32. "When is your StartMail private email service going to be released? - Startpage Support". 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  33. "StartMail Launches "Email Encryption Made Easy" at pii2014 Conference". Startpage. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  34. Startpage B.V. "StartPage". www.startpage.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019. 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. Sullivan, Laurie (21 November 2019). "Bing Feeds News Through Privacy Search Engine, Ensures User Anonymity". Search & Performance Marketing Daily. MediaPost Communications. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  36. Brinkmann, Martin (21 November 2019). "Startpage launches News tab to help users escape filter bubbles". Ghacks. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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