swisscows Reviews 28

eager for a google alternative swisscows delivers decent search results, however, providing those
with a date would be crucial to render search results relevant for topical information, both for research and private application

I use a Swisscows Platinum subscription. The search engine is PG-13, filtering explicit content which I enjoy as a Muslim. You can also customize the results you see with Pro/Platinum. They have a strong privacy policy, only collecting data for diagnostics & improving the censoring (anonymized after 1 week). The email is decent, it's E2E. The VPN isn't anything extraordinary compared to Mullvad, Windscribe, or Proton but it works for casual browsing protection. Overall, intriguing freemium, great privacy, good features, decent ecosystem & nice design.

Review of Swisscows Services

Email Service Transition:
Swisscows initially offered a free email service, which users came to rely on heavily. However, this service has since transitioned to a paid model. The email service utilizes the standard Roundcube webmail software, which is a reliable but common choice among email providers.

VPN services, Privacy Claims and Reality:
Swisscows markets itself as a privacy-focused service, claiming to protect users from privacy violations by major tech companies. They assert the use of their own servers to ensure user data remains secure and private. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that the VPN IP addresses used in their browser extension apps are all sourced from Microsoft and Google This means that users' VPN costs are effectively funding services from these very companies that Swisscows claims to protect against. Consequently, your online activities and website visits will appear to originate from Google or Microsoft servers, undermining Swisscows' privacy assurances.

Search Engine Limitations:
The Swisscows search engine is a paid service that includes censorship, setting it apart from other privacy-focused search engines such as Startpage, DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Metager, and Mojeek. These alternatives are known for their commitment to user privacy without imposing censorship and without costs.

Customer Support and Refund Policy:
Customer support at Swisscows is notably poor. More users have reported difficulties in obtaining refunds, which raises concerns about the company's customer service policies and practices.

Conclusion:
While Swisscows presents itself as a champion of privacy, the reality of its service dependencies and practices tells a different story. The reliance on Microsoft and Google infrastructure, combined with a lackluster support system and restrictive refund policies, significantly detracts from its appeal. Users seeking true privacy and independence from big tech companies may find Swisscows' offerings disappointing and misleading.

Decent search engine. Not fancy but ok. Able to trust it so far. Although was surprised at the bad reviews none of it happened to us!! It does not look genuine. Google on the other hand has become more notorious and a monopoly. bing is not very far from it. so let not create more oligopolies.

The search engine seams to work , but my experience with the company after buying one share in the company , not satisfying. After having now a share of this company for more then 1.1/2 years ( bought for prox: 2000 Euro one share ) I contacted the office to ask how I can sell my share and if they would buy the share back ( 2000 is not much for a company like that ) first I did not get any email reply . I contacted the CEO directly ( whom I know ) he told me he will take care of it . The answer I got from the office was very disappointing.
1) that they don’t buy the share back
2) that I can either sell it myself or join a waiting list 🤔( waiting list - because of one share ???) are there so many selling now there shares ? If yes why ? Why can a company like that not buy one share back ? A company with this size or internet presence should be able to pay 2000 for their own share . Very disappointing, when I bought the share I was not informed that it will be so difficult to exchange one share . Guess I made the mistake trusting people because I knew them . About the search engine I can’t say much , using it here and there . Fundamental Idea is good, sad about the experience I had

The whole “family-friendly” is just another way they ban the LGBTQ community in a lot of search results. I was trying to find an article on a gay actor I’m getting ready to interview, and they banned his name across the search engine for no reason?! But he's all over GOOGLE, Bing, Yahoo, and everywhere else! Do not trust this homophobic search engine.

I like this alternative search engine. Very easy to use. You immediately notice that the results are neutral. Are not adapted to my search behavior. Which I think is really great!

As soon as I try to open it I get a black screen so until somebody tells me why Swisscows won't open I cannot give it any better score. I was so hoping I could find a non-liberal search engine!

When I first discovered Swisscows a few years ago I loved that they were privacy focused. But now every search result displays ads first which I detest! Therefore I will no longer use Swisscows.

They've been compromised in the last couple weeks..... they no longer pass my two litmus tests..... e.g. "vaccine" searches now turn up a bunch of junk from CDC and pharma. Too bad.

Is this a fraud?
No one will answer the phone, no one will respond to emails concerning the wholesale take over of my laptop system by the VPN I bought through SwissCows. Everything has been reconfigured; pop-ups requiring passwords keep appearing and regardless of whether the password is inputted and allowed, they keep appearing. Programmes are disallowed, prevented from connecting to the internet, instructions appear only in German, or SwissDeutch.
I would suggest caution when buying anything from SwissCows, especially the VPN. There is NO customer service, and it seems to me to be a scam.!

Was seeking an alternative to google. This search engine is covered in ads, which would be fine if the search worked. Despite having language selected as English, German (deutsch) pages kept being the top and/or majority of results. Sent them feedback with no response.

Swisscows is completely private, no data collection at all. Swisscows is a private and family safe search engine. Unlike other private search engines, which can show the dark side of the internet. It is recommended if children have access to computer and the internet.

This search engine is wonderful: It doesn't track you, it has a decent list of countries you can search as a region, and it does a great job filtering adult content. A couple of things would probably need to improve on is filtering out alcohol, drugs, and tobacco results. Also, sometimes, the results aren't always accurate.