When we think of search engines, some of the first services that come to mind are surely Google and Bing Search. So there are alternative options like DuckDuckGo and Qwant that prioritize user data and privacy when delivering results. One essential search engine that doesn't get as much attention in North America is Yandex, a Russian-owned engine that's just part of a massive tech conglomerate. Yandex search engine was launched in XNUMX by Arkady Volozh, Arkady Borkovsky and also Ilya Segalovich, and is now recognized as the most used search engine in Russia, second only to Google. If you're considering a new search engine, we took a full tour of Yandex to see how it stacks up against the competition.
Features
The Yandex home page will be similar to anyone who has used Google or Bing. A search bar for user queries occupies the majority of the landing page. As you type your query, the engine will automatically start handling the best results you can click on.
You can access the other Yandex services by clicking on their icons above the search bar (Image credit: Yandex) Above the search bar, there are little tabs for images, videos and maps, which you can click to filter the results for these separate categories. A little Mail tab connects you to Yandex's free email service, while Maps focuses on geographic locations you can search for.
You can find restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, gas stations and other places on the planet using Yandex Maps (Image credit: Yandex) The Maps tab defaults to Europe when you first open it, but you can search anywhere on the planet . You can also customize your search by scrolling to the bottom of the results page and clicking Settings. Here you can adjust everything from filtering your results to the kinds of ads to display when using the search engine.
Yandex explains why it compiles user data and how it uses it on the privacy page of its site (Image credit: Yandex)
Privacy
Yandex is quite open about the collection and use of its user data. According to the company, it is about providing the best experience for each and every user when using Yandex services. The information is compiled from the searches you carry out and the different Yandex products you use (mail, cards, etc.). In addition to this, Yandex has been subject to multiple government violations regarding user data and Yandex's encryption practices. To summarize, running the Yandex search engine helplessly may put some of your user data at risk. If you run the engine via Yandex browser on desktop or mobile, you can enable incognito mode to automatically delete your cookies and history when you close the browser. In addition to this, we strongly advise you to run a VPN to hide your device's IP address when using Yandex.
These are the results of the Yandex investigation of an investigation into the JJs. OO. from Tokyo (Image credit: Yandex)
User Experience
We use the Yandex desktop search engine on a XNUMX MacBook Pro running MacOS Big Sur version XNUMX with Safari as the browser. After running a search, results were delivered in almost an instant, with the most relevant ones sorted to the top. A search for "Tokyo XNUMX JJ. OO" returned links to official Olympic sites, as a brief descriptor aligned to the right of the event, courtesy of Wikipedia. When viewing the results, you can filter by images, videos, and other organizers at the top of the page. Certain results are automatically set aside in separate levels for images, videos, and other media as you browse them. At the bottom of the results page, you can go to the next page or go forward or back by clicking the page numbers. If you want to compare the results with those of competing search engines, there are links for Google and Bing. We also used the Yandex mobile browser on iOS on an iPhone XNUMX (also free for Android devices). The app uses the Yandex search engine by default and the results were similar to those of the desktop version. Just like on the Qwant mobile platform, you can also open multiple results tabs at once. A More button also lets you run an incognito search, view your history, and share your results with others. One minor issue for the desktop and mobile versions was that while we tested the search engine using the Yandex.com URL, some of our results were for Russian sites. The frequency of these results in foreign languages seems to change based on the research we have done. In order to use services such as Yandex Mail and Yandex Disk (Yandex version of Google Drive), you need to register to get Yandex ID. To do this, simply click on "Sign up" at the top of the results page and also enter the requested credentials. Conveniently, you can also log in to your Yandex account with Facebook, Google and Twitter for faster login.
Yandex is free for Windows, MacOS, and Linux devices. You can use the search engine in all major browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, IE, Edge, Opera, Brave and others. You can also download Yandex mobile browser for iOS and Android devices from App Store and Play Store.
Competition
The main contenders for Yandex are Google, Bing, Qwant, and Ecosia. Although engines like Qwant and Ecosia offer a more privacy-focused experience, things like automatically generating results based on previous searches aren't as intuitive. Yandex itself has more in common with major search engines like Google and Bing. The most identifiable, these search engines store and examine user data to provide more tailored results, although the waters turn murky when it comes to which other entities these companies sell their data to and for what purposes.
Final verdict
Yandex offers a search engine experience similar to that of today's major search engines. From a performance perspective, the results are quick to achieve and easy to filter. If you want to expand your Yandex suite, registering a Yandex ID unlocks helper apps like Yandex Mail and Yandex Disk. However, in terms of privacy, there is a lot to be desired. Although Yandex is transparent about its user data practices, the fine print is not reassuring. When web security is an essential concern, going with a privacy-focused search engine is always your best option.