Started using Startpage a few months ago at the recommendation of a co-worker. It uses Google instead of Bing for search results, which is why I started using it, but I learned that it describes itself as:
“an Industry-leading omnichannel digital marketing platform, powered by Machine Learning and AI, that monetizes internet traffic by putting the right ads in front of the right people at the right time.”
System1 is an advertizing company that operates in the privacy niche. All I can get from all that ad copy you quoted is that they advertize 😀. I haven’t heard of them doing anything other than selling ads. AdExchanger (no idea what their reliability is but the writing style is quite frank so I’ll trust them) clocks System1 as a “Special-purpose acquisition company”.
The privacy community has a pretty favorable view of System1: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/search-engines/?h=startpage#startpage https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2020/05/03/relisting-startpage/
For sure, but this was last updated May 2022.
So here’s the thing, it’s admirable when companies do this, but the reality is that the whims and desires of the parent company can change in an instant. Sure, it’s privacy focused now. Can we be assured of that in five, ten, fifteen years? There are zero guarantees for this sort of thing. Especially for a “special purpose acquisition company.”
It’s essentially something that should be under endless audit under all the companies claiming good privacy policies, how willing they are to stick to their guns instead of giving in for profit.
Because it always can and will change so we must “Trust, but verify” at all times.
I agree, but in a different way: No ethical consumption under capitalism 😃. My position on all companies is “take what you can get, bail when they yen grift”