Startpage

Startpage operates under Dutch and EU privacy law as a Netherlands-based company. It does not log IP addresses, does not store search queries, and does not build user profiles. The service strips identifying data before forwarding queries to Google. Ads are contextual (based on the search keyword only), not targeted. In 2019, US ad-tech company System1 acquired a majority stake through Privacy One Group. Startpage states that co-founders retain contractual control over privacy practices, and US personnel cannot access servers that handle unredacted data. Still, the US ownership layer means some jurisdictional tension exists.