Why I Use Uruky, a Private Search Engine

brn:

The source code access is a way to help mitigate that

Well yes and no. This isn’t an app that the user can study to verify what it does, compile to verify the binary they run does what they studied, and that runs on their device that you have no control over.

Uruky is a service where the source code at most tells the user what you claim to be running. By default they can’t verify what’s happening in the backend. I mentioned remote attestation which is mostly available as Intel’s proprietary technology where the client can verify the code running inside the enclave because the CPU signs it with embedded key. That can be done but AFAIK browsers don’t natively support verifying such enclaves and web apps would be susceptible to tampering. Thus going this extra mile would require a native app.

brn:

and you can use the service with VPNs to mask the IP), but even with Tor, you can’t be certain you’re not hopping through compromised nodes logging your traffic (mostly the exit node), right?

Yeah user will have to be smart about using VPNs and Tor, they bear some of the responsibility. But a good service not obstruct it (like Google does with it’s never ending captcha wall), but recommend and support it (like DDG/Startpage do). Malicious exit nodes are mainly dealt with TLS-certificates. Tor handles rest when the two first nodes of the proxy chain hide user’s identity and IP. If the exit node can learn anything more than the IP of the middle node, it falls to you. Offering an Onion Service means there is no exit node. With Onion Services, your server will choose some Tor nodes (1 or more depending on performance setting) and form a longer, 4-5 node long chain where traffic never exits the Tor network.

brn:

So you’d recommend a free (no account needed) engine like Ecosia/Qwant/Mojeek/PriEco/DDG used with the Tor browser to protect against the IP leak and grouping of queries for a person/device?

So here’s the ideal user experience on Tor Browser.

When navigating to the website with Tor Browser, it should show the .onion available message. Then clicking that should redirect to the onion service.

The feature is called Onion-Location, here’s the official instructions for to how to add it.

(Note: The image above is a partial mockup, these guys seem to have uptime issues with their Onion Service for change.)

For anonymity, it should indeed not require signing in to an account. Otherwise the data linkability will allow shadow profiles.

I get that free service won’t be cheap, but clearly marked ads based on search term alone (anyone making the search gets the same ads) are IMO fine.

The VPN is a can of worms I don’t have the energy to analyze in depth. Users will have to research those and decide if the VPN provider is a better ISP than their own. It has so many “it depends” variables I’d rather not go there. But IMO it’s not something you have to necessarily recommend. Supporting Tor in a safe way for those who need it, and making it easy with Onion-Location and maybe some instruction “To maximize the privacy of your searches we recommend you visit our Onion Service”. That’s enough and puts you straight to the A+ tier in my eyes.