Ask HN: How to do literal web searches after Google destroyed the “ ” feature?

This.

Kagi is incredible and worth every penny simply for being able to remove the SEO scam and tire fire that is Pinterest from all image search results.

Doesn't seem to work. Search for "internal engine" and see most results talk about internal combustion engine. By contrast, Google with Verbatim option returns only results with the exact phrase "internal engine".

Piracy has basically been purged from google. Duckduckgo isn't much better, since it's Bing on the backend.

Instead, use Yandex. It returns direct relevant hits and just bloody works. And if you're in the USA, you're also shielded by the fact that Yandex wont share your searched etc with the USG. You know, being a Russian search engine :)

Being logged in while making search queries in search engines poses significant privacy risks. The searches can paint a comprehensive profile of the user, and these data often remain stored for extended periods. There's a chance this information might be shared with third parties. Coupled with other user data, these logged-in searches can pave the way for targeted advertising, sophisticated predictive analysis, and potential exploitation by governments or malicious entities. In the event of data breaches, the user's logged-in search histories can be exposed. Furthermore, users typically don't have clear insight into how their data is utilized when logged in.

I hope Kagi introduces an anonymous access feature. For instance, it could incorporate zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). These are cryptographic techniques where one party (the prover) can confirm to another (the verifier) that a claim is accurate without disclosing any additional information. This is especially beneficial for authentication scenarios where it's essential to avoid sharing extra details.

To implement zero-knowledge authentication for quota API access:

1. Token Creation:

- Each month, users receive a token tied to their identity and quota.

- The token can be split for use on multiple devices using cryptographic methods.

2. API Access:

- Clients present a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) to confirm they have a valid token and haven't used up their quota. The server verifies this without seeing the exact details.

3. Client Synchronization:

- Each client tracks its quota usage.

- Synchronization can be peer-to-peer or through a centralized, encrypted server to prevent double spending of the quota.

4. Quota Renewal:

- Monthly, old tokens expire, and new tokens are issued.

Challenges:

- ZKPs can be resource-intensive.

- Token security is crucial; there should be a way to handle lost or compromised tokens.

- The system should prevent quota "double-spending" across devices.

- If a centralized server is used for synchronization, it should operate with encrypted data.

This way Kagi would only know who their customers are but not what kind of searches they make.

There's been lots of talk about it over the years: https://www.google.com/search?q=google+%22verbatim%22+site%3...

I think I also mentioned it a couple of times when the same complaint came up.

The problem I think is that "verbatim" is not a word that one thinks of, so nobody searches for that. Plus it's hidden in a generic "Tools" menu. Sometime you get a link to search for the exact phrase at the bottom of results, but that too is subtle.