Merlin
Searchonymous

Searchonymous

Prevents Google from tracking your searches

Searchonymous
What is Searchonymous?
"Searchonymous" is a Firefox add-on designed to protect your internet privacy. With this installed, Google does not receive tracking cookies during your searches, thus it is unable to link searches to your account or create a search history. Furthermore, you won't receive customized search results which are often based on your browsing history. Important to note that while it blocks cookie tracking, it does not protect against other means of tracking like IP address or browser fingerprinting. It gives a logged out appearance to Google during searches, whilst still keeping you logged in on other Google services.
Download
Merlin
Stats
Rating: 4.27 (22)
Version: 1.1.2 (Last updated: 2023-07-19)
Creation date: 2014-01-29
Weekly download count: 12
Firefox on Android: No
Risk impact: Very high risk impact
Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
  • webRequest
  • webRequestBlocking
  • storage
  • *://*.google.com/*
  • *://*.google.ad/*
  • *://*.google.ae/*
  • *://*.google.com.af/*
  • *://*.google.com.ag/*
  • *://*.google.com.ai/*
  • *://*.google.al/*
    • See more
Size: 32.92K
URLs: Website
Stats date:

Chrome-Stats Rank

# 2220 ▲ 21
Other rankings
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Other platforms

Searchonymous
Searchonymous (v1.1.2)
4.22 (18) 2,000
Not available on Edge
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Chrome-Stats extension
Merlin
Summary
Analyze keywords

Searchonymous helps to keep your Google searches private: When installed no tracking cookies are sent to Google while searching. That way Google will not be able to connect searches with your account or create a search history. Also you will not receive customized search results.

When the add-on is active it seems to Google that are logged out of your Google account during searches (see the the "Sign in" button at the top right). However you stay logged in on other Google services such as Youtube or Gmail.

If you want to change your Google search settings, make sure to allow the "Search Preferences Cookie" in the add-on settings. By default the preferences-cookie will be blocked which effectively discards any changes to your search settings.

Please note that there are other means of tracking this add-on can't protect you against, such as using your IP address or browser fingerprint.

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User reviews
User reviews summary
These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Firefox Browser Add-ons does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Provides privacy by preventing Google tracking
  • Allows users to stay logged into other Google services
  • Simple to use, perfect for the privacy conscious web searcher
  • Useful for those who prefer using Google's search engine but value their privacy
  • Enables customized settings related to privacy
Cons
  • No longer seems to be working for some users
  • Challenges due to Google's cookie / privacy warnings
  • Incompatible with Firefox ESR version
  • Does not have a toolbar symbol for easy disabling/enabling
  • Lacks ability to set cookies to read-only
Most mentioned
  • Adds a layer of privacy in web searches
  • Incompatibility issues with certain Firefox versions
  • Needs an update to fix non-working issues
  • Lack of easy disable/enable feature
Recent reviews
Don't make the mistake of using it. Dysfunctional and useless.
by just, 2023-01-23
View all user reviews
Safety
Risk impact

Searchonymous is very risky to use and it requires a lot of sensitive permissions. Avoid installing this add-on unless you absolutely trust this publisher.

Risk likelihood

Searchonymous has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

Upgrade to see risk analysis details