searxng/searx/infopage/en/about.md

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# About SearXNG
SearXNG is a [metasearch engine], aggregating the results of other
{{link('search engines', 'preferences')}} while not storing information about
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its users.
The SearXNG project is driven by an open community, come join us on Matrix if
you have questions or just want to chat about SearXNG at [#searxng:matrix.org]
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Make SearXNG better.
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- You can improve SearXNG translations at [Weblate], or...
- Track development, send contributions, and report issues at [SearXNG sources].
- To get further information, visit SearXNG's project documentation at [SearXNG
docs].
## Why use it?
- SearXNG may not offer you as personalized results as Google, but it doesn't
generate a profile about you.
- SearXNG doesn't care about what you search for, never shares anything with a
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third-party, and it can't be used to compromise you.
- SearXNG is free software, the code is 100% open, and everyone is welcome to
make it better.
If you do care about privacy, want to be a conscious user, or otherwise believe
in digital freedom, make SearXNG your default search engine or run it on your
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own server!
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## How do I set it as the default search engine?
SearXNG supports [OpenSearch]. For more information on changing your default
search engine, see your browser's documentation:
- [Firefox]
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- [Microsoft Edge] - Behind the link, you will also find some useful instructions
for Chrome and Safari.
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- [Chromium]-based browsers only add websites that the user navigates to without
a path.
When adding a search engine, there must be no duplicates with the same name. If
you encounter a problem where you cannot add the search engine, you can either:
- remove the duplicate (default name: SearXNG) or
- contact the owner to give the instance a different name than the default.
## How does it work?
SearXNG is a fork from the well-known [searx] [metasearch engine] which was
inspired by the [Seeks project]. It provides basic privacy by mixing your
queries with searches on other platforms without storing search data. SearXNG
can be added to your browser's search bar; moreover, it can be set as the
default search engine.
The {{link('stats page', 'stats')}} contains some useful anonymous usage
statistics about the engines used.
## How can I make it my own?
SearXNG appreciates your concern regarding logs, so take the code from the
[SearXNG sources] and run it yourself!
Add your instance to this [list of public
instances]({{get_setting('brand.public_instances')}}) to help other people
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reclaim their privacy and make the internet freer. The more decentralized the
internet is, the more freedom we have!
[SearXNG sources]: {{GIT_URL}}
[#searxng:matrix.org]: https://matrix.to/#/#searxng:matrix.org
[SearXNG docs]: {{get_setting('brand.docs_url')}}
[searx]: https://github.com/searx/searx
[metasearch engine]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasearch_engine
[Weblate]: https://translate.codeberg.org/projects/searxng/
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[Seeks project]: https://beniz.github.io/seeks/
[OpenSearch]: https://github.com/dewitt/opensearch/blob/master/opensearch-1-1-draft-6.md
[Firefox]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox
[Microsoft Edge]: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028574/microsoft-edge-change-the-default-search-engine
[Chromium]: https://www.chromium.org/tab-to-search