# Uruky search engine (paid service) **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/uruky-search-engine-paid-service/37071 **Category:** General **Tags:** software **Created:** 2026-04-12T15:14:49Z **Posts:** 19 ## Post 1 by @ThePrivacyDad — 2026-04-12T15:14:49Z Has anyone here used Uruky? I was contacted by the developer today. What caught my attention was the account number sign-up, like with Mullvad. It seems like a genuine effort for privacy, though I am aware PG doesn’t tend to consider paid-for search engines (discussion here: ["A look at search engines with their own indexes" - #7 by jonah](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/a-look-at-search-engines-with-their-own-indexes/175/7) ) I might try it out myself and was wondering if anyone here has used Uruky. > **[Frequently Asked Questions - Uruky](https://uruky.com/faq)** > > Search privately and without ads using Uruky, the private search engine. --- ## Post 2 by @privacylover — 2026-04-12T16:38:16Z Why not use Searxng instead, free and open source and you can host it yourself. --- ## Post 3 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-12T17:42:51Z Not easy for all to set up. But yes, that’s definitely an option. If you know how, I encourage you to make a community wiki and explain the process for all to try and set it up for themselves. I for one would like it very much. --- ## Post 4 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-12T17:47:13Z This is interesting. Though I do wish they accepted crypto. Even BTC. I’m not keen on KYC when it comes to a privacy forward tool. --- ## Post 5 by @ThePrivacyDad — 2026-04-12T18:14:51Z > [@anon96036341](#): > > I do wish they accepted crypto I agree. I love the Mullvad/Monero payment model. --- ## Post 6 by @privacylover — 2026-04-13T09:04:20Z > [@anon96036341](#): > > If you know how, I encourage you to make a community wiki and explain the process for all to try and set it up for themselves. > **[SearXNG - Gentoo wiki](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/SearXNG)** --- ## Post 7 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-13T09:16:41Z Not really helpful. First, very very very few people use Gentoo. Second, simply linking to this page doesn’t do anything or explain things to people. Third, how is the average person to install and set up SearXNG? That’s what I was asking and encouraging you to explain. --- ## Post 8 by @ThePrivacyDad — 2026-04-13T10:42:29Z Have you seen this page? [Installation — SearXNG Documentation (2026.4.13+ee66b070a)](https://docs.searxng.org/admin/installation.html#installation) However, I think that goes beyond most regular users’ ken. But you can just use one of these instances: [https://searx.space/](https://searx.space/) --- ## Post 9 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-13T10:50:17Z > [@ThePrivacyDad](#): > > However, I think that goes beyond most regular users’ ken. That’s what I think too. And yes, I saw that before. Thank you for the link to the list of instances. --- ## Post 10 by @Litigated — 2026-04-13T13:22:30Z From the FAQs > Source code will be made available to customers who have been paying for at least 12 months. You will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and a non-compete agreement (NCA) to access the source code. You will be able to self-host and use it for yourself and your family (personal use), but not distribute it or use it for commercial purposes, without our permission. I find this very interesting, especially with respect to the NDA and its content in this specific scenario. Let’s say I pay for 12 months, plan to self-host, but then review the source code and find something quite alarming from a privacy perspective. With a signed NDA, depending on the exact wording, I might not be able to blow the whistle (unless it involves unlawful activities). I appreciate the efforts and fully understand the developer’s wish to protect his product. However, without being able to see the NDA or source code for 12 months, I would, however, be cautious regarding privacy claims (despite appearing to use Mojeek under the hood). Furthermore, while the account generation methodology is applaudable, if I change my account every month, would I still be able to review the source code and self-host after 12 months? The FAQs (or anywhere else) do not address this. I’ll review the privacy policy, in detail, later when time permits. However, if I sign an NDA and non-compete, then they would be storing personal data. Ergo, the FAQ “What personal data do you store?” is currently misleading. These are really legal/corporate issues rather than product critiques. I might give the IOS app a try --- ## Post 11 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-13T14:24:26Z Yeah the fact that this is what they say itself is a huge red flag and I am immediately discounting this service. They appear to be a little too elitist and almost narcissistic to have such views. --- ## Post 12 by @brn — 2026-04-13T15:52:03Z Can you clarify on what specifically is “a huge red flag” for you in the FAQ? I’m not trying to change your point of view, just trying to understand it and potentially clarify things a bit, there. --- ## Post 13 by @brn — 2026-04-13T15:52:13Z Wow, thank you for this very valuable insight. We have not yet drafted the NDA or the NCA (because no one’s been paying for Uruky for more than 3 months now), but we will have a lawyer draft this with us in a few months. The NDA will focus on disclosing the source code, not bugs or security/privacy issues. This is to prevent someone from obtaining the source code, pasting it somewhere else, and claiming no responsibility for another entity taking it. You’re right that if you sign an NDA, we’ll have more information about you, and I’d love for your opinion on ways around that. If you never sign it, we never get it. Also, it won’t be stored in the database or even same server, which is an important distinction. The 12 months is verifiable only from the creation timestamp and expiration timestamp (which is extended when you top-up), so as long as there are more than 12 months between those two dates, you can request a copy of the source code and get it (you won’t get direct and 24h access to the repo). While we use Mojeek as a search provider, we also support 4 other search providers (stated and up-to-date in the FAQ, like EUSP from Qwant/Ecosia). I hope these make sense and we’re open to privacy improvements that don’t compromise our business viability. --- ## Post 14 by @brn — 2026-04-13T15:52:32Z Hello, Uruky co-founder here. I can’t answer for others, but I’ve used SearXNG before and it didn’t work for me because it was slower and didn’t exclude domains I didn’t want results for (like Instagram’s, Facebook’s, or Pinterest’s). I also couldn’t boost some domains I prefer results for (like Wikipedia’s), or specifically easily choose certain engines/providers for specific queries. That being said, SearXNG is a great non-big tech alternative, and you can even define it as a fallback engine in Uruky! --- ## Post 15 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-13T15:54:27Z > [@brn](#): > > Can you clarify on what specifically is “a huge red flag” for you in the FAQ? Everything that @Litigated commented with and the fact that something like that even exists and that a service provider is trying to enforce it. This is not a product related concern. But Terms of Service/Use concern, or rather if you ask me, a problem. --- ## Post 16 by @ThePrivacyDad — 2026-04-13T17:23:30Z > [@anon96036341](#): > > something like that Do you mean the 12 month waiting period? --- ## Post 17 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-13T18:28:06Z Yes but also more than that and all that’s unusual about them as the FAQ says. --- ## Post 18 by @brn — 2026-06-04T08:45:45Z A couple of updates, here: 1. We have since launched a few more personalization options like URL Rewrites, and Image search. 2. For the source code sharing, we’ve talked with lawyers and are inclined to no longer require the NDA/NCC for the privacy reasons mentioned above, but rather use a permissive license that doesn’t allow competition, like [PolyForm Shield](https://polyformproject.org/licenses/shield/1.0.0) (we do still have about 6 months before finalising a decision, here). This does come with a lot more risks for us (it’s harder to track down if someone publishes the code or uses it against the license), but given we’ve already passed 100 monthly active accounts, we’re feeling more confident it’s an acceptable risk. The plan is to give logged in accounts (who are 12 months old or more) a way to download a ZIP of the current code base that’s in the server. Obviously there’s no easy way to prove that’s the case, but we’re open to ideas/suggestions if someone here has them. 3. [I was interviewed by The Privacy Dad](https://theprivacydad.com/interview-with-the-engineer-of-uruky-a-private-search-engine/), in case that helps understand more context around Uruky and my experience. Thanks. --- ## Post 19 by @brn — 2026-07-04T09:52:59Z Hello everyone, I’d like to share some important updates over the last few weeks for Uruky, most importantly: - Anonymous cash-by-mail payments: [Frequently Asked Questions - Uruky](https://uruky.com/faq#q=cash&o=22) - Anonymous vouchers: [Search privately and without ads — Uruky](https://uruky.com/buy-voucher) - Anonymous vouchers via ProxyStore, which you can purchase with XMR/Monero or other cryptocurrencies (and more cash-by-mail currencies than EUR/USD/GBP): [Digital Goods by ProxyStore](https://digitalgoods.proxysto.re/en/brand/uruky) - Many new preferences, like URL Rewrites, highlighting or removing from the results domains listed in known malicious lists or “AI Slop” lists, showing favicons, removing UTM parameters, and grouping results by domain! - PriEco is now an option for search providers: [What are the differences between the search engine providers? - Uruky](https://uruky.com/docs/search-engine-providers) - Many more independent bloggers/people wrote about us (hand-written summaries and links in the second half of the homepage): [https://uruky.com](https://uruky.com) - We’ve reached 200 monthly active accounts (and are nearing 250 now)! Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to us!