The small start from my perspective
Slowly beginning to use European alternatives for the following. See the list below.
I figured it was a good start to all the new ones around here: Google -> Qwant Apple Music -> Qobuz ChatGPT -> Me Chat Twitter/X -> Mastodon
And of course: Reddit -> Lemmy
I will update this list as I continue 👌🏼
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@farcaster Qwant.
I sure hope it's not or we're in trouble : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwant#Controversies
So what's the alternative you suggest then? We're being fucked on all fronts, privacy doesn't exist by this point.
I don't think there's an ideal alternative, I personnally use Startpage right now cause Qwant was removed from the latest Ironfox update.
I just wanted to point out Qwant had its fair share of privacy issues.
"By maintaining its headquarters and operations in the Netherlands, Startpage continues to be protected by Dutch and European Union (EU) privacy laws'
🤔
@tatann @igiIq Nope, they are not American based... They are based in the Netherlands. They are partially owned by an American Company though. I couldn't quickly find sources to what percentage.
Could you expand on the privacy issues you refer to?
The wikipedia article doesn't make much sense nor present anything too concerning.
It also reads like a machine translation so it might be some nuance is simply lost there.
The french version has a bit more info, if you speak french
The last part in english is still recent and concerning :
"### CNIL and the Qwant - Microsoft Partnership
In February 2025, the CNIL issued a legal reminder to Qwant, stating that the data processed by the search engine to Microsoft was personal data rather than anonymous data"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_nationale_de_l%27informatique_et_des_libert%C3%A9s
Thanks! And yes that's bad. Especially since it's clearly an ongoing issue.
Shame, I liked the results a bit better than those I was getting on DDG.
@tatann @hamburgkai What are you referring to? The only thing that this says is that they were not privacy focused from the get-go in 2013 (12 years ago!).
Also, please don't use Wikipedia as single point of truth. I could go in there anonymously and write that Qwant is the worlds best search engine for privacy and nothing else compares or that it is the worst thing since the Stasi. Both statements are untrue. Always cross reference and do some further research.
In case you understand German, there is this discussion: https://feddit.org/post/8948253.
For anyone reading, any idea what the music catalogue on Qobuz is compared to Apple/YouTube/Spotify music? I checked out the website and it looks like Qobuz is kinda expensive (I pay 9.99 euros a month for YouTube Premium + YouTube Music so it's really hard to get rid of it and find a better alternative)
Sorry guys but Soundcloud? Isn't it based in Berlin? I am a long time user of SoundCloud and I like it
It should be so, yeah
Most music streaming services charge about 10 bucks per month. Maybe Qobuz offers rebates every few months.
I heard is pretty close to 1 to 1. Can't find the source tho.
I don't use it for streaming, only to buy digital albums, but on multiple occasions Qobuz was cheaper than 7digital or Bandcamp.
All around I'd say it's the same price (around 10€ per album).
Great start! For browser I can recommend Ecosia (Germany; tried it only on mobile) and Vivaldi (Norway).
As they’re both based on chromium, a Google controlled browser, I‘d recommend any Firefox based browser (waterfox, librewolf) instead.
and Waterfox, Fennec or IronFox for mobile
We really need this. Both qwant and ecosia still use bing under the hood and they are sadly not as good as Google. We should invest in developing an EU search engine
Fantastic work! Hope the Qwant/Ecosia coop creates a powerful search index.
The source and the other announcement
Why is it talking so much about AI and training data
If we actually get a good working, privacy focused search engine that is not primary ads, it would be really great
Amazing ❤️
Looking forward to it!