Comment by garciansmith
7 months ago
I've been curious about Kagi but the idea of running all my searches through one company while logged in worries me. Yes, I realize most people do that with Google and could care less, but I do. For me to try Kagi I'd need a much firmer commitment to user privacy, not the wishy-washy hand-waving portrayed here.
This is my primary concern with Kagi.
The founder posted comments on hn assuring that they take privacy seriously, and I believe him, but most commercial companies (including the big ones like Microsoft) also claimed to take privacy seriously. Look at what they are doing right now: Blatant violations and even more blatant lies.
Search is a deeply personal activity. It can reveal far more information about the user than financial statements, health records, privileged attorney information, or library reading lists. Kagi therefore must _at least_ meet the same sanctity, privilege, and protection standards afforded to those parts of life. At present, Kagi does not meet these standards through technical means, and governing laws certainly fall short of compelling Kagi to meet either.
So while I appreciate what Kagi is trying to do and wish them success, I cannot see myself using it in its current form. Local (private) LLMs and fact checking through search engines that aren't tied to my PII simply provide a superior experience. At present, it's simply impossible for people like me who want better search and are willing to pay for it to become customers of Kagi. I find that to be a real shame :(
For google it probably does not matter if you are logged in or not. They know who you are anyway when you do your searches.