[ShadowAce]

Because your machine reached out to someone else's server, then that someone else knows what you searched for,...

This is true.

...and can build a database of inquiries from you (or your local install of Searx.)

Except that your local install of Searx creates a brand new, unique, randomized profile every time you perform a search--not just for each browser session.

That makes tracking rather difficult. For this reason, an extra layer of security would be to put this installation in the cloud (like Linode) to hide your own IP.

[ShadowAce]

For this reason, an extra layer of security would be to put this installation in the cloud (like Linode) to hide your own IP.

Or stick it behind a VPN like NordVPN and randomize the connection server every day.

[Yo-Yo]

Except that your local install of Searx creates a brand new, unique, randomized profile every time you perform a search--not just for each browser session.

That is what they claim, and it may be true for Google, or any of the other 70+ databases they are querying, but not necessarily true for Searx or its masters.

Hopefully, being open source means that others have examined the code to make sure data isn't being sent to other servers surreptitiously.