You're safe with Startpage and Ixquick,The world's most private search engines

Subject: You're safe with Startpage and Ixquick,The world's most private search engines

Take a deep breath.

You're safe with Startpage and Ixquick,

The world's most private search engines.

No PRISM. No Surveillance. 

No Government Back Doors.

You Have our Word on it.

If you're concerned about disclosures that the US government has been spying on Internet users through the "PRISM" program, StartPage and Ixquick offer you a safe haven. We assure you we are not part of any government surveillance program.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Startpage and Ixquick are award-winning search engines that are third-party certified and fully anonymous. We boast the best privacy policies on the Internet: No search records stored. No IP addresses recorded. No tracking cookies used.

StartPage provides a private portal to Google results, while Ixquick provides private results from other search engines. Both have earned the coveted EuroPriSe "trust mark" for outstanding privacy and data handling practices, and are registered with the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

Startpage and Ixquick are the only search engines to offer a free proxy service, and we were the first to offer default SSL encryption.

In our company's 14-year history, we have never provided user data to the US government, or to any other government or agency. Not under PRISM, nor under any other program in the US, nor under any program anywhere in the world.
 
We are not like Yahoo, Facebook, Google, Apple, Skype, and the other US companies who got caught up in the web of PRISM surveillance. Here's how we're different:

• No User Data Stored: StartPage and Ixquick do not store any user data, so government agencies have no incentive to ask us for it. We do not record the IP addresses of our users, and we never use tracking cookies, so there is no data about you on our servers to access. Since we don't even know who our customers are, we can't share anything with Big Brother.

Encrypted (HTTPS) Connections: StartPage and Ixquick were the first search engines to use automatic encryption on all connections to prevent snooping. When searches are encrypted, third parties like ISPs and the NSA can't eavesdrop on Internet connections to see what people are searching for.

• Not Under U.S. Jurisdiction: StartPage and Ixquick are based in the Netherlands, so we are not directly subject to U.S. regulations, warrants, or court orders. We can't be forced to participate in spy programs like PRISM. Europe has strong privacy protections, and as far as we know, governments there are not asking companies to spy on users. Should that ever change, we will fight for your privacy to the end. 

As a law-abiding citizen, you have a right to complete privacy and anonymity, and you've made the right choice by using StartPage or Ixquick. (If you're not already enjoying our services, please give us a try at www.startpage.com and www.ixquick.com.

We encourage you to pass this message along to others, so they can start enjoying the search privacy you have found with us. Please help us spread the word! 

Sincerely,

Robert E.G. Beens
CEO Startpage.com and Ixquick.com
 

Privacy.

It's not just our policy, it's our business.

Read more about our commitment to your privacy here.