Does Qwant Search Use Bing Search Results – Ultimate Guide

Qwant Search: Understanding Its Dependency on Bing Search Results

Qwant, a French search engine launched in 2013, has positioned itself as a privacy-focused alternative to giants like Google and Bing. However, despite its claims of independence and unique indexing methods, Qwant's search results are not entirely free from the influence of Microsoft's Bing.

Early Dependency on Bing

In its early days, Qwant heavily relied on Bing's API to provide search results. Until early 2019, Qwant's searches were largely based on Bing Web and Images searches, as the company lacked its own crawler and indexer. This dependency was so significant that, according to a 2019 audit by the French interministerial Digital Directorate, approximately 64% of Qwant's search results were provided by Bing.

Transition to Own Indexing

Qwant began transitioning to its own indexing system in February 2013, but this process was gradual. The company started using its own engine for indexing social media accounts and the "shopping" part of search results, while still relying on external APIs, including Bing's. By 2019, Qwant had made significant strides in reducing its dependency on Bing, though it still uses Bing's results in certain cases, particularly for heavy image searches or when its own index lacks sufficient relevance.

Current Usage of Bing

Today, Qwant's search results are a mix of its own indexed content and results pulled from Bing. When Qwant's own index does not have enough relevant or high-quality results, especially for image and video searches, it resorts to using Microsoft Bing's API. This is evident in the similarity between search results on Qwant and Bing, especially in video searches where Qwant often yields results dominated by YouTube and Dailymotion, similar to Bing.

Data Privacy and Bing's Influence

While Qwant prides itself on not collecting or storing user data and avoiding the use of tracking cookies, its reliance on Bing introduces some privacy concerns. Bing's advertising model involves collecting pseudonymised data, including searched keywords, browser type and version, the first three bytes of the IP address, and approximate geographical location. This data can be retained for at least 18 months. Although Qwant acts as the data controller and ensures that user identities and IP addresses are not accessible to third parties like Huawei when using Qwant on Huawei devices, the use of Bing's services still raises questions about the extent of user data privacy.

Infrastructure and Partnerships

In May 2019, Qwant migrated its servers to an infrastructure based on Microsoft Azure, further integrating its services with Microsoft's ecosystem. This move, while enhancing Qwant's technological capabilities, also underscores its ongoing relationship with Microsoft and Bing.

Special Features and Privacy Commitment

Despite the reliance on Bing, Qwant maintains several features that enhance user privacy. It does not store browsing history, profile users, or target them with personalized ads. Qwant also offers a kid-friendly version called Qwant Junior, which filters out inappropriate content and provides educational resources. Additionally, Qwant's Maps application, based on OpenMapTiles, allows users to privately save their map history.

In summary, while Qwant has made significant strides in developing its own indexing capabilities and prioritizing user privacy, its search results are still partially powered by Microsoft Bing. This dual approach allows Qwant to balance its need for comprehensive search results with its commitment to user privacy and ethical search practices.