Google is a domineering force on the web. According to some statistics, its popularity and use far surpasses any other search engine. It has become synonymous with search. Many people aren’t aware that there are alternatives to using Google search and Google’s suite of services.
Instead of being the product, wouldn’t it be nice to be the user? Kagi is a relatively new player in the search engine line up, but it is different and innovative from the rest. It is a paid search engine. For a small monthly (or yearly) fee, you are no longer the product. No advertising, no algorithms that are bent in a particular direction. More importantly, Kagi is a search engine that is concerned for their user’s privacy. Since Kagi is offered as a product that you pay for, their concern is for their users, not their advertisers. Kagi’s search engine is extraordinarily good. It even allows you to control sources and block search results. Kagi has its own AI system to give quick results in search and sources those results. There are little things the developers have implemented that make searching the web a joy. For example, instant answers have interactive links that show the results immediately without opening a new tab.
Paying for a search engine probably sounds crazy to you. We are so used to free services that we forget why most everything they offer is free – you are the product. Kagi just may be what you’ve been looking for in a search engine.
People are getting fed up with online companies harvesting their personal data for their own benefit. I think it’s about time that we become users and not products. Using a paid search like Kagi is one step in that direction. No, it’s not for everybody, but it’s a step forward in a better way to use the Internet without being tracking and without being bombarded by advertising. If you like Google, stick with them, but please know that you have options.
(This is not a sponsored article. I am not wearing a tin-foil hat. 👽)
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