Qwant
EU verifiedFrench privacy-friendly search engine with its own European index – no tracking or user profiles, EU-hosted.
Qwant is a French search engine from Paris that offers web search without tracking, user profiles or cross-site tracking. Unlike pure front-ends, Qwant is building its own European search index and thus delivers independent results; its infrastructure is entirely in the EU and not subject to the US CLOUD Act. Qwant is backed by the European Investment Bank and public institutions and has at times been the default search in European public bodies. This makes Qwant one of the most sovereign European alternatives to Google Search.
Note on ownership: French search engine (Qwant SAS, Paris), founded in 2013, aiming to offer web search without tracking or user profiles. Qwant is building its own European search index, is EU-hosted and GDPR/CNIL-compliant; its infrastructure is entirely in the EU and not subject to the US CLOUD Act. Investors include the European Investment Bank and French public institutions.
Strengths
- Own European search index (independence from US backends)
- No tracking, no user profiles, EU-hosted
- GDPR/CNIL-compliant, not subject to the US CLOUD Act
- Publicly backed (incl. European Investment Bank)
Weaknesses
- Not open source, no self-hosting
- Result quality for niche searches sometimes weaker than Google
- Smaller ad/shopping ecosystem
Best for
- • Privacy-conscious users and organisations
- • Public sector and education with sovereignty requirements
- • Anyone wanting a European Google alternative with its own index
Less suited for
- • Users who strictly need Google's full result depth
Sovereignty Score & weitere Bewertungen
Sehr souverän durch eigenen europäischen Index, EU-Hosting und Freiheit vom US CLOUD Act; nicht quelloffen und mit geringerer Ergebnistiefe als Google.
The Sovereignty Score is an editorial orientation aid, not legal advice. How we rate.
Alternative to
Similar providers
MetaGer
Germany
Non-profit German metasearch engine (SUMA-EV) – open source, no IP storage, servers only in Germany.
Ecosia
Germany
German public-benefit search engine that plants trees with its profits – privacy-friendly, but uses Bing as its search backend.
Sources & notes
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