Ixquick Search

Ixquick Search is a classic search engine app designed to ensure users’ privacy. Ixquick Search does not track personal information such as a user’s location, past searches, IP address, or other identifying data. After launching Ixquick Search, users enter their keyword or term into the search box provided. Ixquick Search will then find results and users can tap the “Magnifying Glass” button to have their findings reported as web documents or images. If users wish to run an advanced search, they can tap that option from the “Magnifying Glass” button and then specify keywords that they want and do not want to appear in their results, among other options. Users can also tap the “Any Time” button to order results based on when they were published (e.g., past 24 hours, past week, past month, and/or past year). Also, after conducting a search, users can tap the “proxy” feature to view their findings via a “proxy” computer to further ensure their privacy, or they can tap the “highlight” feature and the app will highlight their search terms when viewing the document.

Instructional Ideas

1. Teachers can have students use this app as part of a research project to find articles, documents, and images about a topic.
2. Students can research “search engine privacy” and then compare how Ixquick Search treats user privacy as compared to other search engine apps such as Google, Bing, Search22, and Phlo. Teachers can have students write a statement about the privacy and security offered to users by the other apps. Students can conclude their statement by explaining which search engine app they will use in the future and why.
3. Teachers can explain to students why tapping the “highlight” option when viewing results is beneficial. Teachers can explain how they are able to skim through documents and articles quicker when the terms are highlighted as compared to when they are not highlighted.
4. Teachers can demonstrate to students effective ways to search for information using this app’s “Advanced” search option. Teachers can show students how to limit their findings using the different “Advanced” search options.

Screenshots