Self-Host SearXNG: Private Search Engine | TinyPod

SearXNG is a privacy-respecting metasearch engine. Search Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo without them tracking you.

What Is SearXNG?

SearXNG is a metasearch engine — it sends your query to multiple search engines (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.) and aggregates the results. The search engines see the request coming from your server, not from you.

Why Self-Host Search?

Google tracks every search query

DuckDuckGo is better but still centralized

SearXNG adds a layer between you and search engines

No search profile built about you

No filter bubble

Features

Multiple Engines

Search Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, Reddit, GitHub, and dozens more simultaneously.

Customization

Choose which engines to use per category

Set default language and region

Custom themes

Safe search settings

Privacy

No tracking cookies

No search history

No user profiles

All requests proxied through your server

Deployment

1. Deploy SearXNG on TinyPod

2. Configure your preferred search engines

3. Set your browser's default search to your SearXNG instance

4. Search privately

Resources: 1 CPU, 512 MB RAM.

Browser Integration

Add SearXNG as your browser's default search engine:

Firefox: Settings → Search → Add SearXNG

Chrome: Settings → Search Engine → Add

Use with the URL: https://search.yourdomain.com/search?q=%s

Public vs Private Instance

You can make your instance public (anyone can use it) or private (only you). For personal use, keep it private — public instances get abused and rate-limited by search engines.

Limitations

Relies on external search engines (if they block you, results decrease)

Slower than direct Google (aggregating multiple sources)

No personalized results (this is also a feature)

For the privacy-conscious, SearXNG is the best self-hosted search option.

Self-Hosting SearXNG: Private Search Engine