Presearch: Is the decentralized search engine privacy-compliant?

In Germany, Google is one of the top search engines, with a market share well over 90%. This means very few users opt for alternative search engines. Yet, there are plenty of them available. Presearch is one such option, alongside others like Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia. Alternatives to Google often become relevant when it comes to personal privacy and data protection. Using search engines inevitably generates data sets through search queries, clicking on results, and subsequent browsing. This data can be used to serve personalized search results and advertisements. The more extensive the data sets, the more accurately a detailed profile of the individual user can be created. Presearch, by contrast, claims to refrain from collecting such data.

Blockchain-based search engine: How does Presearch work?

Presearch is described as a private, decentralized search engine. This means that the underlying algorithm is not developed by a single company, but by a multitude of independent members. In principle, anyone can contribute to the development of this open-source technology, much like Wikipedia. This fully open technology is intended to protect against abuse and censored search results, aiming instead to simply provide better, unbiased results than those currently offered by conventional search engines.

Presearch utilizes blockchain technology for this purpose. Every search query is recorded in a database as an individual data set. This data set is publicly accessible but encrypted, making it viewable only in an anonymous form. On its way from the search query to the database, the data is routed through nodes. These can be hosted on the computers of community members, who thereby contribute to data processing and support the system's growth.

To incentivize the adoption of the search engine, Presearch uses its own cryptocurrency. PRE tokens can be earned with every search query or by providing private resources, as described above. These tokens can then be used to place ads within the search engine itself. PRE tokens can also be traded for Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USD, making them particularly interesting for users of digital currencies. For those not yet familiar with cryptocurrencies, the primary advantage remains the protection of their personal privacy.

Presearch & data protection: A real alternative to Google?

The Presearch privacy policy provides information on which data is collected and which is not. Accordingly, no search queries are stored. There is also no GPS tracking or tracking via third-party cookies. These are already some of the aspects that often worry users when they are online. Another point is also reassuring: only decentralized networks are used to process search queries, with the data being anonymized. Theoretically, it is impossible to trace the data back to an individual.

However, Presearch states that it does store IP addresses when the website is used. Under the GDPR, an IP address is considered personal data. If you register with the community and provide your name and email address, you are also providing personal data that requires protection. It is important to note here that Presearch is based in the United States and therefore theoretically not subject to the GDPR. However, as soon as services are offered to EU citizens within the EU, Presearch must also comply with the GDPR.

Presearch is compelling due to its innovative application of well-established blockchain technology, with a focus on privacy. The search engine aims to prove that high-quality search results can be delivered with minimal and anonymized data. However, even Presearch cannot function entirely without personalized data. Furthermore, the blockchain technology used still deters too many users, as knowledge of and trust in this technology are far from mainstream. As long as this is the case, the reliable protection of one's personal data will always be subject to a question mark. Additionally, the lack of a diverse range of formats, such as images, videos, and map integrations, may make searching on the platform feel a bit dry for some users. Therefore, as things stand, Presearch is not yet a serious alternative to the giant that is Google. 

How to test the Presearch search engine

Simply go to the following address using the browser of your choice: https://presearch.org/. Alternatively, on the latest Android devices or those reset to factory settings, you can find Presearch alongside Google as a search engine—easily selectable via the so-called choice screen.