9 Comments

I'm a little late to test this out, but I'm thrilled with it. I'd been using DuckDuckGo as my default for a while (like Neeva and Firefox, they at least paid lip service to the notion of privacy and security), but it's been declining in utility as Google has, since the two are linked. Setting up a Neeva account feels like taking out a ship after scraping off a serious accretion of barnacles. Thank you!

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Glad it has worked for you! It is the only thing I use any more (Neeva).

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I fired up Neeva this morning and like what I see so far, and I really enjoy not needing to leap over advertisements-hiding-in-plain-sight at the top of each search.

One surprise that I had never noticed before: it is surprisingly easy to replace Google as the default search engine in ChromeOS. On the other hand, it is still not possible to replace the default browser which makes it difficult to try out the alternatives (you must reload a new site in the alternative browser with each new URL selected...).

Thanks for the suggestion, Jim, though the harder choice will come later when it is no longer a free trial.

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Thanks for giving it a try. The fit-and-finish of our technology tools is a matter of individual taste. So I am glad that the free-trial offer is giving people a chance to see how it works for them.

On the browser-choice issue, that hasn't arisen for me. BUT my experience over the months (ie, before I wrote about them) is that Neeva support is very quickly responsive, so you could ask there. Please report back what you find!

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You make a convincing case against using Google for search; it is way too cluttered with advertising. But, I needed no convincing!

For a different reason, I quit using Google as my default search engine after Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 how the NSA was intercepting everyone’s data from the company’s fiber optic lines.

Call me paranoid, but I battened down my privacy as far as I knew how after Snowden, and one way was to avoid Google to the extent possible.

It has always bothered me that Google probably knows more about me than I know about myself. It is quite easy to do by storing everything you ever search for. Search queries are very revealing and Google knows it. That's how they have made mega billions!

I have used DuckDuckGo ever since and find it quite adequate for all but the most complicated searches. It is definitely not cluttered with advertising and links to Google’s in-house products. And its focus on privacy is reassuring.

I highly recommend it, but I will definitely check out Neeva.

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Thanks. I also have used, and like, Duck Duck Go.

It's a topic for another time, but overall I have found Google much more careful / transparent about data and privacy than many other companies. I'd say "better than Facebook," but that's an abysmally low bar. Their "advanced protection" program, for instance, is a huge privacy and security benefit for users. But on this topic, too, I recognize that each of our individual tastes and no-go lines differ.

Give it a try and see what you think.

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founding

A shame you had so much integrity as not to accept what Google must have offered you in the IPO. You'd have a small jet, instead. Not giving up Maps, right? The most incredible information store I know. Arrived late using Street Views, which I intend to master thoroughly before I lose mobility.

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Ah, the glamor and glory of journalism! The life we have chosen. ( This is one of several *really* successful firms I knew about / met in their startup era. Of course didn't / couldn't invest in any. This is why no one ever comes to me for personal-finance guidance.)

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founding
Nov 4, 2021Liked by James Fallows

Thanks for bringing this to our attention ... signing up to try it.

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