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---
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title: "Online Privacy Guide"
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date: 2022-12-05T09:41:23+02:00
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date: 2022-12-08T09:41:23+02:00
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draft: true
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toc: false
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images:
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tags:
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- open-source
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- privacy
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- open-source
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- privacy
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---
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One benefit of using [libre software](../why-libre-software/) is the privacy
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you're getting. Libre software usually contains **no spyware**, **no trackers**
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and **no ads**, because if it did, it could be easily pointed out in the source
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code **and removed by forking the project**.
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code **and removed by forking the project**.
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The same can't be said about closed-source software, because, not being able to
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audit the source code, its privacy is as good as the developer promises. There
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@ -24,6 +26,7 @@ software only. However, even with libre software, there are some additional
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steps required to ensure better privacy.
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# Identifying a threat model
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You cannot have both **privacy** and **convenience**. There is always a tradeoff
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between the two. For this reason it is important to establish a personal threat
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model you want to protect against, to know how far to go. The goal should be
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@ -32,6 +35,7 @@ obtaining a balance between the two, not going all out on one.
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{{< image src="/images/pepe-paranoid.webp" position="center" style="width: 50%" >}}
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### Possible thread models
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1. Strangers
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2. Family, friends
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3. Stalkers
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@ -45,8 +49,10 @@ last two, you should also look into hardware privacy, such as [libre boot](https
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and [degoogled Android phone](https://grapheneos.org/).
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# Step 1 - Browser
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The browser is the program you use the most, so it makes sense to secure it.
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There are a few things to look out for in a good browser:
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* Provides a way to disable **javascript**
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* Is **open-source**
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* Does not phone home (or provides a way to disable phoning home)
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@ -55,84 +61,118 @@ There are a few things to look out for in a good browser:
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Knowing this, we can definetely say that the following browsers are a threat
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for your privacy: **Google Chrome**, **Opera**, **Safari**, **Microsoft Edge**.
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## Good practices
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1. Clear your cache everytime you close your browser.
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2. Use only non-javascript website when possible.
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3. Spoof your **user agent** to fit in with the others. Make sure you [are not
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unique](https://amiunique.org/fpNoJS).
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4. Use privacy friendly alternatives for popular websites (see the guide below)
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## Good practices
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1. Clear your cache everytime you close your browser
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2. Use only non-javascript website when possible
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3. Spoof your **user agent** to fit in with the others. Make sure you [are not unique](https://amiunique.org/fpNoJS)
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4. Use privacy-friendly alternatives for popular websites (see the guide below)
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5. Only use HTTPS
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6. Check what connections your browser is making, with a tool such as **iftop**
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There are a few browsers out there that provide good privacy, while also having
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modern features. I will rank them based on the privacy they provide outside the
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box. You should choose a browser based on your threat model, needs and
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experience with tinkering with configurations.
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## [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/)
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[{{< image src="/images/firefox.webp" position="center" style="width: 25%;" >}}](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/)
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## Browser list
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Privacy Level: **Low**
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<details class="post-box">
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<summary class="post-box-title">
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<img class='box-logo' src="/images/firefox.webp">
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<h2>Firefox</h2>
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<p class="box-privacy">{{< text-icon privacy "#FF5555" >}} Privacy Level: <b><span style="color: #FF5555">Low</span></b></p>
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</summary>
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<hr>
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**Firefox** is the default browsers on **most Linux distributions**. This makes it
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a solid option for new users and people just begining their privacy journey.
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Although not a good solution in the long run, Firefox provides an undispensable
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**Firefox** is the default browser on **most Linux distributions**. This makes it
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a solid option for new users and people just beginning their privacy journey.
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Although {{< color "not a good solution" "#FF5555" >}} in the long run, Firefox provides an indispensable
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basis for other browsers, being a direct competitor to Chromium.
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Firefox phones home by default and has javascript enabled. Firefox can have a
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**high** privacy level if applying [arkenfox's
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**decent** privacy level if applying [arkenfox's
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user.js](https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/) and installing
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privacy extensions. A simple and efficient guide for hardening Firefox can be
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found [here](https://spyware.neocities.org/guides/firefox.html).
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## [Librewolf](https://librewolf.net/)
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[{{< image src="/logos/librewolf.svg" position="center" style="width: 25%;" >}}](https://librewolf.net/)
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If you are not willing to configure Firefox, you should look into its forks that provide better privacy defaults.
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Privacy level: **Medium**
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<span class="i-blog">
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<a style='margin-right: 10px' href="">[Download]</a>
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<a href="">[Website]</a>
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</span>
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</details>
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<details class="post-box">
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<summary class="post-box-title">
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<img class='box-logo' src="/logos/librewolf.svg">
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<h2>Librewolf</h2>
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<p class="box-privacy">{{< text-icon privacy "#FFAA00" >}} Privacy Level: <b><span style="color: #FFAA00">Medium</span></b></p>
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</summary>
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<hr>
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**Librewolf** is a fork of Firefox aiming to fix all of its parent's problems. It
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hardens firefox and ships **uBlock Origin** by default, a powerful ad blocking and
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hardens Firefox and ships **uBlock Origin** by default, a powerful ad blocking and
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javascript blocking tool.
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Librewolf phones home at startup, although it can be disabled from
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**about:config**. If all you want is a browser that works, Librewolf is the
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middle ground for privacy and convenience.
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## [GNU IceCat]()
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[{{< image src="/logos/icecat.svg" position="center" style="width: 25%;" >}}]()
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Privacy level: **Very high**
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middle ground for privacy and convenience. Definitely use over vanilla Firefox.
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<span class="i-blog">
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<a style='margin-right: 10px' href="">[Download]</a>
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<a href="">[Website]</a>
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</span>
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</details>
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<details class="post-box">
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<summary class="post-box-title">
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<img class='box-logo' src="/logos/icecat.svg">
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<h2>GNU IceCat</h2>
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<p class="box-privacy">{{< text-icon privacy "#55FF55" >}} Privacy Level: <b><span style="color: #55FF55">Very High</span></b></p>
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</summary>
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<hr>
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**IceCat** is GNU's fork of Firefox. It is the best Firefox alternative because
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it provides the most privacy features, however they come at the cost of
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usability. IceCat is known for easily breaking website due to its LibreJS feature.
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usability. IceCat is known for easily breaking website due to its **LibreJS** feature.
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It is a good option if you need to browse the internet safely and don't care
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about some sites that require javascript not working. If your thread model is
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high enough you should only use non-javascrript website anyways.
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high enough you shouldn't use websites that require javascript anyway.
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<span class="i-blog">
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<a style='margin-right: 10px' href="">[Download]</a>
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<a href="">[Website]</a>
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</span>
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</details>
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## [Ungoogled Chromium](https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium)
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[{{< image src="/logos/chromium.svg" position="center" style="width: 25%;" >}}](https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium)
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Privacy level: **High**
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{{< text-icon privacy "#00FF11" >}} Privacy level: **{{< color "High" "#00FF11" >}}**
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**Ungoogled Chromium** is Google Chrome without **trackers**, **ads**,
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**phoning home**, **Google search engine**, **Google Extension Store**,
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**Google accounts**. Therefore it is very minimal and does not provide any
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privacy features out of the box.
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**Google accounts**. Therefore, it is very minimal and does not provide any
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privacy features out of the box.
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Its downside is that you have to compile it and it is not user friendly,
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installing extensions being a tidious taask. However, if you need a chromium
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Its downside is that you have to compile it and it is not user-friendly,
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installing extensions being a tedious task. However, if you need a chromium
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based browser, it is the best solution out there.
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## [Brave](https://brave.com/)
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[{{< image src="/logos/brave.svg" position="center" style="width: 25%;" >}}](https://brave.com/)
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Privacy level: **Medium**
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{{< text-icon privacy "#FFAA00" >}} Privacy level: **{{< color "Medium" "#FFAA00" >}}**
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**Brave** is the browser based on Chromium that advertised itself as **the**
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browser for privacy. It comes with good privacy features outside the box,
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however it is known for adding spyware features in the past, such as
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**telemetry**, **auto-updates** and **Brave Rewards**.
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**telemetry**, **auto-updates** and **Brave Rewards**.
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Should be used if Chromium engine is required and Ungoogled Chromium cannot be
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compiled in a reasonable amount of time.
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@ -143,10 +183,10 @@ compiled in a reasonable amount of time.
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Even if you have a secure browser, your data is still accesible if you **simply
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hand it over** to Google, Facebook or other companies. You should aim to
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replace **all of your services** from these companies with privacy friendly
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replace **all of your services** from these companies with privacy-friendly
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alternatives.
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You can see the privacy friendly services **hosted by ElPengu** [here](../../services).
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You can see the privacy-friendly services **hosted by ElPengu** [here](../../services).
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## Search Engines
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@ -154,23 +194,20 @@ You can see the privacy friendly services **hosted by ElPengu** [here](../../ser
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{{< image src="/images/librex-interface.webp" position="center" style="width: 75%" >}}
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Privacy level: **Very high**
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{{< text-icon privacy "#55FF55" >}} Privacy level: **{{< color "Very high" "#55FF55" >}}**
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**LibreX** is a meta search engine that pulls Google results. It uses **no
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javascript**, therefore your search queries can't be tracked.
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javascript**, therefore your search queries can't be tracked.
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Other useful features are torrent search and onion link search.
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### {{< image src="/logos/searx.png" position="relative" style="height: 2.15rem; width: 2.15rem; margin-right: 15px" >}} [SearXNG](https://github.com/searxng/searxng)
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{{< image src="/images/searxng-interface.webp" position="center" style="width: 75%" >}}
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Privacy level: **High**
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{{< text-icon privacy "#00FF11" >}} Privacy level: **{{< color "High" "#00FF11" >}}**
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**SearXNG** is a fork of Searx, a meta search engine that pulls results from
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**a lot** of search engines, including Google, DuckDuckGo, Startpage. It
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**SearXNG** is a fork of SearX, a meta search engine that pulls results from
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**a lot** of search engines, including Google, DuckDuckGo, StartPage. It
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requires javascript for proper use, which can be maliciously modified by the
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host, but has the advantage of customizability.
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host, but has the advantage of being customizable.
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