I use MSEdgeRedirect!

I love it!

It’s in the settings of the Play Store app itself, not a setting in Android. That threw me off at first.

Turns out I already had it disabled, thankfully.

Firefox with uBlock Origin on Windows or Linux, and NewPipe on Android

Oof, well I don’t like the sound of this at all. Looks like my days of using YouTube might be numbered.

If these sites keep enshittifying at this rapid pace, I may be forced to touch grass before my time is up

OP didn’t say if they use Firefox. If they’re using Chrome, then I’d find this result rather unremarkable and unsurprising.

I became hyper aware of it the first time I tried using Tik Tok, and I was served nothing but alt-right hate videos. Obviously, search engines aren’t usually quite so obvious, but for instance, people in my location are certainly more likely to net results connected to far-right ideas and agencies, because of the interests of people who live here.

I don’t like that idea at all. Search engines should only respond to deliberate input from the user imo. I know that’s a big ask for people to acclimate to appending “in [location name]” if they expect location specific results, but the convenience of just saying “hey Google, restaurants near me” is not worth the consequences.

Unfortunately, almost all search engines are complicit, including supposedly privacy friendly ones like Kagi, Qwant, and Startpage. I’m no longer recommending those to people. SearXNG and Mojeek are the only ones that don’t lean into the algorithmic and locational fuckery, but even that’s with a lot of tweaking the settings.

It’s no great mystery why things like fascism are on the rise. And people will say I’m in the minority for caring about this, and … yeah, that’s the problem.

We’re definitely in the minority, but I feel like it’s still a significant enough minority that you’d think someone would be creating something to fit this need. The closest I’ve found are SearXNG instances and Mojeek, and neither are entirely free from the claws of these algorithms.

Rather, educating people how to use keywords and syntax is far better than teaching people to depend on an algorithm. This would net one the results that you describe without any of the problematic aspects of an algorithm.

I don’t see any need for an algorithm whatsoever, but I see many ways it can be used to frustrate or manipulate users. It is my strong opinion that a valid search engine only responds to deliberate input from the user, and things like algorithms or location-specific results are an endless source of discouragement and frustration to me.

When will people realise that google has tailored algorithms and we are not all experiencing the same search results?

You’re right. This is the real problem with search engines like Google and one reason I use SearXNG instances and Mojeek instead. Where I live, the algorithm is more likely to net content that is biased toward right-wing conspiracy theories and problematic agencies because of that algorithm. Any search engine that does this is not a valid search engine, in my opinion.

The first device I installed Linux on is an old gaming laptop that was so slow that I almost disposed of it. It’s like a new machine now. I’m not sure why, but it just never ran well with Windows for some reason.

Best way to obtain Microsoft’s products imo

I’m so fed up with their BS

At risk of sounding like an insufferable individual, I’ve completely had my fill of Microsoft. I’ll have to still use it at work, but I’m transitioning everything into Linux.

What finally made me make this decision is when I read about Microsoft’s vision to make the Windows OS completely cloud-based.

I’ve also had to fight with Windows 10 so much just not to be redirected into Edge, show me unwanted promotions, or, worst of all, restart my machine without my deliberate consent and in spite of making registry edits (If I leave my computer on overnight, there’s a reason, I don’t care if it’s “inactive hours” or whatever they want to call it.)

Whatever I miss out on by using Linux just isn’t worth the hassle anymore.

I always assumed when people say things related to Bill Gates and Microsoft that they’re being facetious, kinda like Todd Howard with Bethesda games.

Do people really think Bill Gates still runs Microsoft?

Paying Microsoft is like paying a ransomware scammer

No amount will ever be enough to satiate their depraved lust for money

Thank you. The title is misleading clickbait.

Solid recommendation! “Contribute missing data” sounds like a chore, but this app is super fun

This is all disappointing, to say the least, but I’m convinced. I won’t be using archive.today anymore.

In what way is it “very handy for the rest of us”?

Thanks, I will look into it. I appreciate the link. Cheers!

So if I get a Firestick, I can connect it to a machine running Linux and sideload apps like that? (Sorry if it’s a dumb question, I’ve never used a Firestick but I’ve been contemplating ways to mirror content from a Linux PC to my smart TV)