<s>
Startpage	B-Application
is	O
a	O
Dutch	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
company	O
that	O
highlights	O
privacy	O
as	O
its	O
distinguishing	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
advertises	O
that	O
it	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
obtain	O
Google	B-Application
Search	I-Application
results	O
while	O
protecting	O
users	O
 '	O
privacy	O
by	O
not	O
storing	O
personal	O
information	O
or	O
search	O
data	O
and	O
removing	O
all	O
trackers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Startpage.com	B-Application
also	O
includes	O
an	O
Anonymous	O
View	O
browsing	O
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
open	O
search	B-Application
results	I-Application
via	O
proxy	B-Application
for	O
increased	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Startpage.com	B-Application
began	O
as	O
a	O
sister	O
company	O
of	O
Ixquick	O
,	O
a	O
metasearch	B-Application
engine	I-Application
founded	O
in	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2019	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
received	O
a	O
significant	O
investment	O
from	O
Privacy	O
One	O
Group	O
,	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
System1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
it	O
provided	O
metasearch	B-Application
for	O
14	O
different	O
web	O
and	O
directory	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
images	O
,	O
news	O
,	O
and	O
MP3	B-Application
engines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ixquick	O
was	O
re-launched	O
on	O
23	O
March	O
2005	O
with	O
new	O
features	O
including	O
a	O
redesigned	O
metasearch	B-Application
algorithm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Startpage.com	B-Application
began	O
as	O
a	O
web	B-Application
directory	I-Application
in	O
2002	O
and	O
started	O
mirroring	O
Ixquick	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
7	O
July	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
re-launched	O
Startpage.com	B-Application
to	O
fetch	O
results	O
only	O
from	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Tor	O
Browser	O
version	O
4.5	O
in	O
April	O
2015	O
,	O
Startpage.com	B-Application
was	O
its	O
default	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
29	O
March	O
2016	O
,	O
Ixquick.com	B-Application
was	O
merged	O
into	O
the	O
Startpage.com	B-Application
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2017	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
fields	O
an	O
estimated	O
2	O
billion	O
searches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2019	O
,	O
Privacy	O
One	O
Group	O
,	O
owned	O
by	O
adtech	O
company	O
System1	O
,	O
acquired	O
a	O
majority	O
stake	O
in	O
Startpage	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
responding	O
to	O
questions	O
from	O
PrivacyTools	O
team	O
members	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
was	O
able	O
to	O
clarify	O
that	O
the	O
acquisition	O
would	O
not	O
impact	O
their	O
privacy-focused	O
mission	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
recommendation	O
was	O
ultimately	O
restored	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
maintaining	O
its	O
headquarters	O
and	O
operations	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
continues	O
to	O
be	O
protected	O
by	O
Dutch	O
and	O
European	O
Union	O
(	O
EU	O
)	O
privacy	O
laws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
Vivaldi	B-Language
announced	O
that	O
its	O
browser	O
had	O
added	O
Startpage	B-Application
as	O
an	O
optional	O
or	O
default	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
27	O
June	O
2006	O
,	O
following	O
criticism	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Shopping	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
began	O
to	O
delete	O
private	O
details	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ixquick	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
share	O
the	O
personal	O
information	O
of	O
users	O
with	O
other	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
or	O
with	O
the	O
provider	O
of	O
its	O
sponsored	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
 '	O
Wirecutter	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
does	O
not	O
store	O
user	O
's	O
personal	O
information	O
or	O
search	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
May	O
2020	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
website	O
on	O
ZDNet	O
also	O
states	O
that	O
Startpage	B-Application
"	O
does	O
not	O
track	O
,	O
log	O
,	O
or	O
share	O
data	O
or	O
searching	O
history	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
received	O
the	O
European	O
Privacy	O
Seal	O
,	O
a	O
European	O
Union	O
–	O
sponsored	O
initiative	O
that	O
indicates	O
compliance	O
with	O
EU	O
laws	O
and	O
regulations	O
on	O
data	O
security	O
and	O
privacy	O
through	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
design	O
and	O
technical	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
Startpage	B-Application
is	O
based	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
"	O
not	O
subject	O
to	O
US	O
laws	O
like	O
the	O
Patriot	O
Act	O
,	O
and	O
cannot	O
be	O
forced	O
to	O
comply	O
with	O
US	O
dragnet	O
surveillance	O
programs	O
,	O
like	O
PRISM.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Startpage	B-Application
has	O
also	O
contributed	O
€	O
20,000	O
to	O
NOYB	O
,	O
the	O
non-profit	O
organization	O
founded	O
by	O
Max	O
Schrems	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
committed	O
to	O
launching	O
strategic	O
court	O
cases	O
and	O
media	O
initiatives	O
in	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
EU	O
's	O
General	O
Data	O
Protection	O
Regulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
also	O
provides	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
proxy	B-Application
service	O
,	O
Startpage.com	B-Application
Proxy	B-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
incorporated	O
into	O
the	O
Startpage	B-Application
search	I-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
Anonymous	O
View	O
since	O
2018	O
,	O
allows	O
users	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
open	O
all	O
search	B-Application
results	I-Application
(	O
except	O
advertisements	O
)	O
via	O
the	O
proxy	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
StartMail	O
,	O
founded	O
in	O
2014	O
by	O
Startpage	B-Application
CEO	O
Beens	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
privacy	O
protecting	O
email	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phil	O
Zimmermann	O
,	O
the	O
inventor	O
of	O
the	O
PGP	B-Application
encryption	I-Application
system	O
who	O
Startpage	B-Application
hired	O
in	O
2018	O
to	O
advise	O
the	O
company	O
on	O
privacy	O
technology	O
,	O
has	O
also	O
helped	O
develop	O
StartMail	O
's	O
PGP-encrypted	O
email	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Startpage.com	B-Application
does	O
not	O
collect	O
user	O
data	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
serve	O
targeted	O
advertising	O
based	O
on	O
user	O
data	O
history	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
generates	O
revenue	O
from	O
its	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
by	O
providing	O
contextual	O
advertising	O
based	O
on	O
the	B-Application
keyword	I-Application
used	O
to	O
perform	O
a	O
search	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Startpage	B-Application
uses	O
results	O
from	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
for	O
which	O
it	O
pays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
2020	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
allows	O
searches	O
in	O
82	O
languages	O
,	O
including	O
Bengali	O
,	O
Danish	O
,	O
Dutch	O
,	O
English	O
,	O
Finnish	O
,	O
French	O
,	O
German	O
,	O
Italian	O
,	O
Japanese	O
,	O
Korean	O
,	O
Norwegian	O
,	O
Polish	O
,	O
Portuguese	O
,	O
Simplified	O
and	O
Traditional	O
Chinese	O
,	O
Spanish	O
,	O
Swedish	O
and	O
Turkish	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
has	O
tabs	O
for	O
web	B-Application
searches	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
tabs	O
for	O
image	O
and	O
video	O
searches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2019	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
added	O
a	O
tab	O
for	O
news	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
added	O
"	O
Instant	B-Application
Answers	I-Application
"	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
displays	O
information	O
directly	O
on	O
the	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
for	O
topics	O
such	O
as	O
weather	O
,	O
maps	O
and	O
Wikipedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
does	O
n't	O
offer	O
"	O
featured	B-Application
snippets	I-Application
"	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
answers	O
extracted	O
directly	O
from	O
relevant	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
Startpage	B-Application
's	O
"	O
Instant	B-Application
Answers	I-Application
"	O
only	O
get	O
information	O
from	O
a	O
dozen	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
