Browser & search: the first step to self-determination
The browser is your window on the world; search is your map. Whoever controls both controls what you see. Three steps, no dogma.
Browser
Recommendation: Firefox or LibreWolf. Independent engine (Gecko, not Chromium), configurable tracking protection, container tabs for identity separation. Chrome is the market king — and a Google product.
| Browser | Engine | Google-free | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox | Gecko | Yes | Strong (ETP, total cookie protection) |
| LibreWolf | Gecko | Yes | Hardened |
| Brave | Chromium | Mostly | Hardened |
| Chrome | Chromium | No | Marketing “private” — practice: data linkage |
Steps: install Firefox → set default → uBlock Origin → optionally privacy.resistFingerprinting for the hard setup.
Search
Recommendation: Startpage or SearXNG. Startpage serves Google results without your IP/history going to Google. SearXNG is self-hostable, aggregating many sources. DuckDuckGo is the middle way (Bing results, less collection — but not tracking-free; the 2022 browser contract scandal showed Microsoft ties).
The real point: the question isn’t only “who collects data?” but “whose index?” Only an own index (Mojeek, marginal) is truly independent of Google/Bing.
Debunking
False: “Chrome incognito is private.” — Incognito hides history from other users of the device, not from Google, websites, or your ISP.