Response by Startpage
Developer response
posted 5 years ago10/10/2019
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PERMISSION REQUEST REMOVAL
Over the last few days, Startpage has received valuable feedback regarding our recent extension update and valid concerns around our request to view browser tabs. We realize that users understandably would prefer not to allow such permissions. As privacy advocates committed to serving our community, the team made it our highest priority to address this issue.
Effective immediately our extension will no longer request access to browser tabs for existing and new users. See version update here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/startpage-privacy-search-engin/versions/
We appreciate all feedback and ask that you continue to openly communicate with us. Please feel free to reach out directly by email at support@startpage.com, by Twitter @StartpageSearch, or on product review sites. We review these daily and look forward to hearing from you.
First Review Reply 10/06/2019
Thank you for using Startpage. The request to view tabs is only applicable in the initial install process, in order to pass a marketing page URL from add.startpage.com to confirm a successful installation. However, to enable that feature, we had to request users allow access to the tabs. Once install is complete, we NEVER look at your tabs, so we are actively pursuing other options to grab that URL without needing access to tabs.
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PERMISSION REQUEST REMOVAL
Over the last few days, Startpage has received valuable feedback regarding our recent extension update and valid concerns around our request to view browser tabs. We realize that users understandably would prefer not to allow such permissions. As privacy advocates committed to serving our community, the team made it our highest priority to address this issue.
Effective immediately our extension will no longer request access to browser tabs for existing and new users. See version update here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/startpage-privacy-search-engin/versions/
We appreciate all feedback and ask that you continue to openly communicate with us. Please feel free to reach out directly by email at support@startpage.com, by Twitter @StartpageSearch, or on product review sites. We review these daily and look forward to hearing from you.
First Review Reply 10/06/2019
Thank you for using Startpage. The request to view tabs is only applicable in the initial install process, in order to pass a marketing page URL from add.startpage.com to confirm a successful installation. However, to enable that feature, we had to request users allow access to the tabs. Once install is complete, we NEVER look at your tabs, so we are actively pursuing other options to grab that URL without needing access to tabs.
709 reviews
- Rated 5 out of 5by Wallamander Hucklebee, 6 hours ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Firefox user 16302000, 5 days ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by nighttimecoral, a month ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Hollytryx, a month ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Coolio, a month agoGoogles results with none of the BS. My search engine of choice and what I advice for people who want privacy!
- Rated 5 out of 5by Firefox user 17848870, 2 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by MissedShot, 2 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Nerthazul, 3 months agoFantastic alternative to google. Has the same quality search results, but unlike google, it doesn't violate your privacy.
- Rated 5 out of 5by Bout's Morgan, 3 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by inaneedinternetfreedom, 3 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Firefox user 14668490, 5 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Cuby3212, 5 months ago
- Rated 4 out of 5by adhiwena, 6 months agoI like Startpage, but sadly, it's too slow for me. I guess it's because the server is in California and I'm in SEA. I wish you guys have a SEA server soon. Cheers!
Developer response
posted 5 months agoWe're heard feedback like this before from people in your region. We have forwarded your feedback to our Product Team. Adding server locations in the APAC region isn't currently on the roadmap, but we’ll definitely consider it in the future.
Thanks for caring about privacy! - Rated 2 out of 5by laclac1, 6 months agoI thought this extension would allow me to customize the "startpage" search on the Firefox home page.
In particular, put the startpage home page in French because you can only have it in English without an extension.
But no ! the extension also does not allow you to have the Startpage search in French by default... it just changes the Firefox start screen as anyone can do without this extension by clicking in Firefox Settings/ home page.
Basically, this extension is absolutely useless. Doesn't add any functionality, nor fill any gaps that users may have. Too bad, I'll still have to keep Google which offers search in French by default... it's boring !
Edit: Thank you for your answer. The idea is not to give a bad rating for free, but to provide constructive elements so that you are better and I really appreciate that you answer (I am raising my rating for your very good support).
I am not talking about the interface but about the search.
When I type "Obama" on Google or DuckDuckGo, all the answers are in French. Because it detects that my browser or IP are in France and favors answers in French.
When I do the same thing on Startpage I only have answers in French. So I have to systematically force the search in French and for all searches.
So I would have really liked this extension to allow you to indicate once and for all to set the language of the search on the home page.Developer response
posted 6 months agoThe extension is intended to make it easy to set Firefox's default search engine to Startpage, which we think it does pretty well.
Unless we're misreading you, what you're suggesting can be achieved by setting French as the preferred in language in Firefox (about:preferences#general) and doing the same in Startpage settings (https://www.startpage.com/do/settings).
If you want to discuss it further, and perhaps clarify your feature request, do reach out at support@startpage.com. - Rated 1 out of 5by LibreCR, 6 months agoJ'ai longtemps fait confiance à Startpage concernant la confidentialité de l'usage de mes données. J'ai appris que la société est détenue par System1, une entreprise spécialisée dans la collecte de données et le ciblage publicitaire.
Quelle cohérence ?
Je rejoints les avis en suspicion et me détourne de l'usage de vos services.Developer response
posted 6 months agoIn January 2019, Startpage became a part of System1 and continues to be headquartered in the Netherlands. As promised, we have kept all our commitments never to change our privacy practices as well as adding more helpful private search features.
This article contains a detailed explanation on the various contractual privacy protections we’ve put in place as a System1 company:
https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/5194985436948
And in an effort to provide further transparency we make available our private search data flow, detailing how personal data is protected:
https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/4455570359188
Please contact us at support@startpage.com if you have further questions.
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En janvier 2019, Startpage a rejoint System1 et son siège est toujours aux Pays-Bas. Comme promis, nous avons tenu tous nos engagements de ne jamais modifier nos pratiques de confidentialité et d'ajouter des fonctionnalités de recherche privée plus utiles.
Cet article contient une explication détaillée des différentes protections contractuelles de la vie privée que nous avons mises en place en tant que société System1:
https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/5194985436948.
Et dans un effort pour assurer davantage de transparence, nous mettons à disposition notre flux de données de recherche privée, détaillant comment les données personnelles sont protégées:
https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/4455570359188
Veuillez nous contacter à support@startpage.com si vous avez d'autres questions. - Rated 5 out of 5by Firefox user 16779275, 6 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Ronnie C, 6 months ago
- Rated 1 out of 5by Kaqxar, 6 months agoThe extension works, but the site itself is trainwreck. It recurringly thinks I am a bot, asks some questions, I need to solve a captcha, then it still denies all services. So basically there is no point in using this extension, because the service behind it is unreliable.
Do not use it, there are other, more competent and privacy respecting search engines.Developer response
posted 6 months agoSorry you haven't had a great experience using our service. Our service is generally very reliable. We are subjected to automated abuse and scraping on a daily basis, which can be very costly financially and in terms of system performance. Accordingly, strong anti-abuse measures are a necessity, and we continually work hard to improve them. False positives are occasionally a reality: in some instances, normal users will set off one or more of our rules and be asked to verify they are not a bot.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@startpage.com if there is anything further you wish to discuss. - Rated 2 out of 5by p3whyte, 6 months agoIt worked for a couple of days. I liked it. The worst part was no way to completely turn off "Safe Search". But after a couple of days no matter what I searched for ALL search results came back with a "503 error" blank page. Uninstalled; might try again later...
Developer response
posted 6 months agoThanks for caring about privacy. We're sorry you experienced an issue with our add-on. If you decide to re-install and are still experiencing any issues, please contact us at support@startpage.com. - Rated 2 out of 5by Sketch56, 6 months agoStartpage, why in sin did you not add an '@' for your Search Shortcuts keyword? It's such a dumb decision that makes it harder to search for details about Startpage, and I already have it as my default search engine so it's redundant.
For those who may ask "why not just change the keyword?" For some ungodly reason, it doesn't remove the default keyword when you set a new keyword.Developer response
posted 6 months agoIt's a great suggestion and will be included in a future version. - Rated 4 out of 5by Carlisle Mike Wick, 7 months ago
- Rated 5 out of 5by Stanislav Pastukhou, 7 months ago
- Rated 4 out of 5by Firefox user 18359878, 8 months ago
- Rated 2 out of 5by Vadda41, 9 months ago