Search engines are crucial for navigating the internet. Without them, finding the right information would be difficult at best. Google is by far the most popular search engine. It’s convenient, neatly integrating searches with its other services, and it’s helpful, providing relevant results most of the time.

Using alternative search engines to Google

On mobile devices, Google can give results precisely tailored to you personally, down to your exact location, and since most smartphones run on Android, Google comes as the default search engine. But sometimes getting results from another search algorithm can help you find exactly what you need. Let’s see how search engines work in Opera and what alternatives to Google Search are best.

Using search engines in Opera

All versions of Opera support a variety of the most popular search engines. Our award-winning Opera Touch browser supports a total of eleven. But Opera on desktop gives you the flexibility to quickly switch your search engine without changing your default, so you can easily use Google alternatives. In the search bar, type the keyword that identifies the engine (for example, y is for yahoo), followed by a space and your search query. For a list of keywords and a list of search engines, go to Settings > Basic > Search engine and click Manage search engine. You can even search sites like Amazon and Wikipedia directly. Do you have another search engine that you like or a site that you regularly search? Add it to Opera and assign a keyword to it.

Using personalized search engines

If you want to compare your Google results with other search engines, consider trying Bing or Yahoo. They are two of the most well-known alternatives to Google. Like Google, Bing and Yahoo personalize results to provide more relevant answers, but they add their own useful features. For example, Bing includes a rewards program that lets users earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards and donations. Yahoo provides trending topics, breaking news, sports and weather, all helpfully included on the search page.

The best private search engines

Privacy-focused search engines offer another alternative to Google Search and have been growing in popularity over the last couple years. Since their results are based solely on the search terms, these are the best search engines to get a more unbiased view of what people are saying on the internet.

DuckDuckGo and Qwant are two popular privacy-focused search engines, based in the United States and Europe, respectively. Their privacy policies are similar to Opera’s privacy statement. What you do online is your business. The DuckDuckGo search engine has a clean interface that will look familiar to longtime Google users, while Qwant is a bit more like Yahoo, providing quick links to breaking news and trending topics. Qwant also includes a music search and a kid-friendly version. Both DuckDuckGo and Qwant actively support open-source software and maintain their own GitHub repositories, making either a good private Google alternative.

Google has the largest share of searches today because it does an excellent job of finding information, but using an alternative search engine can help you track down exactly what you need online. Opera gives you the tools to manage all your options and search the web quickly and efficiently using all of the best and private search engines. Download Opera today and see how easy searching the web can be.

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