Since DuckDuckGo has decided to regionalize all my search results even when no region is selected (why?!? 😩),
Making my work impossible (I don't spend my day writing about Canada DuckDuckGo! 🙄),
I have started to use @Mojeek and I must say that it is a real joy. I find what I'm looking for much quicker, no patronizing regionalization based on IP, and no AI pollution. It feels like I found back the 2010s web and I'm here for it.
Thank you Mojeek 💚
@Em0nM4stodon
I've had a few cases recently where DuckDuckGo returned 0 results 🤨 mostly with quoted search terms that are absolutely present on multiple indexed websites.
I had very mixed results with Mojeek at work a couple months ago. It did alright with common topics, but good with more domain-specific things. (Admittedly, searches for reverse-engineering and OS internals related topics are not a useful benchmarks for most users 😅)
@barberousse_bin Indeed, I regularly encounter the same problem with DDG. It's bizarre. I think the key here is truly to use multiple search engines as well. I appreciate the "Try elsewhere" feature in Mojeek for this.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek ATTENTION, ATTENTION, NOISE POLLUTERS!! Mojeek has introduced optional AI search summaries in a new version of its software, but this feature is designed to respect user privacy and avoid dependency on Big Tech.
Key word here is "Optional". Grab an OED and look it up. Peace guys.
@Em0nM4stodon Thank you. I hadn't heard of it before, and it's good to know about an alternative.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek I was greatly disappointed when I saw DDG added AI crap to their browser and search. Thank you for posting this. I'll use Mojeek for a while and see what I think.
@Em0nM4stodon Thank you for the recommendation. I'm going to give it a go 😁
To the excited reply guys in my replies:
No, I'm not claiming that Mojeek doesn't use AI anywhere, I'm simply stating that when I search a term, the result page displays no AI answer to me by default, and it seems the AI-slop results are greatly deprioritized ("no AI pollution" in my results), compared to what I get on DuckDuckGo and Start Page (and would also get with Google and Bing, but I don't use these directly).
This is only a post about my own personal experience, it isn't a full review of the engine, obviously.
If you dig into the settings and find an AI feature you could enable and don't like that, you are free to not use it, and you really don't have to tell me about it (please don't).
If you want to research and write a full review of search engines, please do! And please do it outside of my replies, without tagging me.
For anyone who knows me, yes I dislike AI features a lot, and I don't enable any of them anywhere. I seem to be able to use Mojeek getting genuine informative results free from the AI plague, and I wanted to share this joy with you. Whenever AI is put in my face against my will (like with many other search engines and countless software do) doesn't mean I'm using it. I don't use AI, ever. But yes, it's everywhere around me, to my greatest sorrow.
@Em0nM4stodon I'm trying it out on the work computer. I've had to open up another engine once so far (I was looking for the links to download the default tools for a particular embedded processor), we'll see how it holds up. I can live with needing to use other engines occasionally, if it's otherwise happy-making.
@Em0nM4stodon Oh you ran into those queefs.
@Em0nM4stodon it's not just you (fortunately or unfortunately, I'm not sure) @veronica has been dealing with some real grade A pieces of shit. You may find some ideas/solace/etm following her journey.
@fiend_unpleasant @veronica Indeed, I follow her already and can relate to a lot of her experience here, sadly.
@Em0nM4stodon 👍 superb, yeah I've changed my default to @Mojeek on my machines and most of the time it's just fine. Occasionally I think, hmm no that's not enough and I'll fall back to Google but I imagine that's going to happen less and less.
@Em0nM4stodon fuck em’. Glad you shared Mojeek with us cuz that’s exactly what I was looking for. It’s a damn sight better than every other search engine!
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek so, now I'm looking for a better search than DDG. (I detest regional search results 🤬).
I just found this page, addressing search engines and AI. Interesting.
But it does not address regional vs global results. My search continues. Recursive, pun not intended.
@Em0nM4stodon What!?!?
But global results is the initial reason I switched to DDG! 🤬
Nooooo! 😱
@ShaulaEvans @Mojeek
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek Tried it and it's fab! Could do with a search box widget to go on my home screen. But as a search box comes up the instant you tap the icon, maybe I can train myself to do that.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek Whaaaaatttt??? Are you trying to claim that your IP doesn't define exactly who you are and what you want?
Jokes aside I know the feel all too blasted well. I use a VPN from another country and everything just assumes my language based on my IP address even though the browser literally tells the site what language I use!!! So I get to navigate sites in a language I don't understand trying to find the option to switch to one I do, lol.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek I just turned it off when I noticed it.
In settings: Region -> Set to "All Regions".
Does that not work for you, or ?
@Em0nM4stodon @suriele @Mojeek this is SO disappointing. I very much want worldwide search; only very occasionally occasionally I use regional search.
I left Google search b/c it was making decisions for me, like regional results and results based on context of my previous searches.
It's exhausting. 😥
@Em0nM4stodon finding a good search engine in 2026 is truly like the ancient texts foretold…
@Em0nM4stodon LOL @ no AI pollution, except for the big red box that clearly states that they use AI.
@cliffwade @Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek This feature is opt-in though, unlike most search engines. As a matter of fact, they have a more hesitant approach to this than other search engines:
1. https://blog.mojeek.com/2025/09/mojeek-is-not-an-answer-engine.html
2. https://blog.mojeek.com/2024/04/mojeek-search-summary.html
3. https://blog.mojeek.com/2023/05/generative-ai-threatens-diversity-and-hyperlinks.html
Honestly and out of curiosity, do you know of some privacy search engines with no LLM integration?
@fonos I don't think it's opt-in actually. I saw the post, went to their site which I had never been to, search for something and the AI stuff was there, front and center.
Not sure why people feel it's ok to defend these things in any way. But the OP claimed that Mojeek uses no AI in any way, and that was proven to be false. Opt-in, opt-out, whatever. The claim is false.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek @cliffwade Fair enough on the "No AI" claim.
However, it is strange you got a summary by default, though, since only the buttons to get one should be there and not the summary itself.
@fonos I've checked again this morning and tested in 3 different browsers on two OS's, and the Summary button is always there. Yet last night was the first time I had ever heard of Mojeek, and therefore the first time I'd ever visited it.
In the end, it just really bugs me when people claim to be so anti-AI and swear that they don't use anything that uses AI and if you use AI you're a complete trash of a human. Yet it's so easy to discover that what they are using does indeed use AI front and center.
It's like they are trying to fit in with the cool kids, but they are failing miserably.
What's even more sad is, the original post will likely never be edited by the OP to state that Mojeek does indeed use AI for things.
Even after it was shown in a screenshot and three links provided from their own blog stating they use AI.
@cliffwade @fonos @Em0nM4stodon If you have not done so please read the section: Our Position on https://blog.mojeek.com/2025/09/mojeek-is-not-an-answer-engine.html
@cliffwade @Mojeek I never saw this box show my side. Not sure if anything blocked it. I see a Wikipedia box instead. Which I'm quite happy with.
@Em0nM4stodon Like I said, before you post about how this or that doesn't use AI slop and how excited about it that it doesn't use AI, you might want to do some better research. It's just false information being spread to people and it's quite deceiving.
Plus you're giving a company credit for not doing something when they are indeed doing it, therefore making it look as if you're quite ok with it, though you're totally against it.
I'll be honest, when you mentioned it didn't use AI, I clicked it to check it out. Then instantly saw AI being used and was quite disappointed that I gave them a single click.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek DuckDuckgo has become as useless and annoying as Google or Edge. Thanks for the tip on Mojeek.
@Mojeek @Em0nM4stodon Thanks for the heads up on Mojeek. Nice to see results without AD labels....
@Em0nM4stodon Does @Mojeek support !bangs?
(Not that I use them so much, but I used them at least twice today)
@qgustavor @Em0nM4stodon No but we do have Search Choices: https://blog.mojeek.com/2022/02/search-choices-enable-freedom-to-seek.html
@Mojeek @Em0nM4stodon I guess I can reimplement !bangs (at least those I often use) myself. Which is better, because then I can choose which backend will handle each bang, e.g. I can use a self-hosted QR generation service for !qr instead of the weird one DDG uses.
@Mojeek @Em0nM4stodon
Everyone raves about DDG, I've never gotten along with it though.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek ~ Roughly the same experience with DuckDuckGo and someone suggested Ecosia and I have been happy the past year.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek - DDG and Google both based in the US. In this day and age, that should be enough of a reason not to use them - while DDG's 'privacy' only going as far as the government allows it. Will look at Mojeek, but currently using EU-based (where privacy and security laws are so much tighter) Startpage. Really, any EU-based product is an improvement.
@bazcook @Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek Same. Using Startpage and it works reasonably well
@leslore @bazcook @Em0nM4stodon Startpage is owned by US based System1
@Mojeek @leslore @Em0nM4stodon - ah well...will look at the options. That said - given the current state of the UK's government tap-dancing on the tech landscape - will have to think about advisability of Mojeek!
@Em0nM4stodon Nice!
I've testes Kagi a little bit, which was also a nice pleasant surprise. But requires a sign-up and subscription when you start using it for real.
Will check out @Mojeek as well as @MetaGer ... I really feel the need something else than DDG (noai works but still meh).
I think would really prefer a reasonably priced subscription from a non-profit org hosting a good search engine with full, verifiable transparency.
These days I can't help distrusting all these free search engines with poor transparency - am I a product when I use them?
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek I like the HTML only variant of DDG
I've used Mojeek but their results were too limited for me. I've been a fan of DDG but am increasingly frustrated by their regionalization of results (why impose this on users?!?).
I still value DDG but it's time to give Mojeek another chance. Thanks for pointing this out.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek But they do have an LLM-powered "summary" button ? 😭 And I thought I'd found a haven!
@Em0nM4stodon Have to agree. Just started using @Mojeek myself. Just search, like in the old days.
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek I think Bing is doing that based on the IP of the DuckDuckGo server relaying the results
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek definitely intrigued! My main concern is just that I don’t recall hearing of them before
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek
Ooh i suspected that. Even if I search in English, duckduckgo keeps returning France results. 🤦♀️
@Em0nM4stodon oh dear god that's a refreshing view
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek Didn't know about Mojeek! Thanks for sharing!
@Em0nM4stodon this is exactly what I was looking for yesterday. Thank you for sharing! 
@Em0nM4stodon @Mojeek Use Mojeek along with searx. All excellent and uncensored.
