I’ve been using startpage with fox on my computer now since 2019 and I have to say, I absolutely love the zero ads and the privacy. The search results are also specific and I don’t have to deal with the first page being mostly sponsored bull.
You do/should fiddle with the settings so it matches your requirements, and give using it a month or two, instead if giving up on it.
I haven’t used Google’s search engine in almost three years, and am trying to transition out of Gmail. That will take a few years, but am still going to try my best. Good luck trying the start engine out!
I like it but it has started to not work with VPNs. They keep prompting to prove you are not a bot or scraper. I’ve talked with their staff, and they seem clueless as to how bots and scrapers actually work.
alternatives with their own indexes good: https://www.searchenginemap.com/
Hm, Brave seems interesting. I think I want to try it
I’ve been reading articles about Chrome, FireFox, comparings. Opinions were divided. Some say it’s better to choose Fox, others have said some bad things about this browser… I don’t know who to believe 
Besides, it’s not like I’m going to delete my Google account right away, I still need it…
Firefox is way too slow and buggy
The main thing I don’t like about duck duck go is that if I put a “-” in front of a word, then all of the results will have that word in them, whereas Google used to never have it - but now mostly doesn’t. I hope startpage doesn’t have that flaw.
I’ve encountered to same problem several times. Usually I just switch to duckduckgo for the rest of the day when that happens.
Interesting. This is why I’m researching startpage (and this thread came up as one of the results). If it’s no different, realistically speaking, than Google, I fail to see why I should change.
Sounds like something I wouldn’t want at all!
If you use Startpage, you’re still using and supporting Google because that’s exclusively where the results come from. You’re also still subjecting yourself to Google’s censorship, and probably to its surveillance/thought-manipulation mechanisms too.
I’ve been reading articles about Chrome, FireFox, comparings. Opinions were divided.
That may be true for performance and usability, but there’s really no “divided opinions” when it comes to privacy. In that regard, Chrome is objectively a terrible choice. So if privacy is your primary concern (as it will be for many people on this sub), there’s no way around FF.
If you want something closer to your Chrome experience you can try Brave, got good privacy features out of the box.
The internet at this point is mostly optimised and tested for Chrome and its rendering engine, thus giving this impression. Google-owned services like YouTube have even been alleged of intentionally crippling loading times for browsers. If you want to support this malicious behaviour of the de-facto browser monopoly by not even considering other options - have it your way.
I don’t think I’m ready for “shock therapy” by cutting off all Google services in one go 
I guess for now, something that is a bit similar to Chrome, but isn’t Chrome is enough for me.
I’ve tried virtually every browser out there over the years. I’m not interested in slow garbage anymore. Used to love Opera. Now that is Chinese. Brave is good enough. Firefox isn’t worth the headache.
Besides, it’s not like I’m going to delete my Google account right away, I still need it…
I guess for now, something that is a bit similar to Chrome, but isn’t Chrome is enough for me.