Show HN: Uruky (EU-based Kagi alternative) now has Image Search and URL Rewrites
You can get a 2h free trial by solving a proof-of-work captcha when topping up your account for the first time. If you'd like to learn more, an independent interview was posted a couple of weeks ago [1], and the FAQ [2] has a lot of information as well. For the source code sharing, we've talked with lawyers and are inclined to no longer require the NDA/NCC for privacy reasons shared with us before (signing requires identification), but instead use a source-available permissive license that doesn't allow competition, like PolyForm Shield [3] (we do still have about 6 months before finalising a decision, here). This does come with a lot more risks for us (it's harder to track down if someone publishes the code or uses it against the license), but given we've already passed 100 monthly active accounts, we're feeling more confident it's an acceptable risk. The plan is to give logged in accounts (who are 12 months old or more) a way to download a ZIP of the current code base that's in the server. Obviously there's no easy way to prove that's the case, but we're open to ideas/suggestions if someone here has them. [1]: https://theprivacydad.com/interview-with-the-engineer-of-uru... [2]: https://uruky.com/faq [3]: https://polyformproject.org/licenses/shield/1.0.0
Discussion Highlights (20 comments)
Munksgaard
Interesting! All the license stuff aside, there's definitely a desire for more EU-first services like this.
danielrmay
Does Uruky provide an API, or allow API usage such a way that I can leverage it as part of an agent workflow, or otherwise, in place of something like DuckDuckGo?
ainiriand
It is a bit hard to evaluate the potential when you need to top up and do a captcha just for evaluation purposes. The barrier of entry is quite high.
aniviacat
> EU search providers (Marginalia, Mojeek, EUSP, etc.). Does this mean this is just a meta search engine without its own index? If so, the comparison to Kagi seems misleading. The question would turn from "why not Kagi" to "why not SearxNG".
danielspace23
I think that, more than EU metasearch engines, we need EU search indexes. EUSP is already something, but they seem to be working rather slowly, compared to how quickly Brave built their own index. It's also trivial to run a perfectly working metasearch engine with the same sources as Uruky, it's called Searxng. In any case, good luck on this project. I personally don't think it's for me. Maybe a better user interface would change the equation, but as of now I'll stick to Qwant.
evilmonkey19
I really like the idea and that it's eu-made a love it. A fee things I see with kagi which are useful and improvements: - Hire a UI/UX person NOW! My parents and gf like using google and kagi because are easy to use. - add the widgets like the football or the show the local store with the phone number asap. My gf is thinking about moving away from kagi because of this. - the quick ai response is extremely useful. - Indexing websites is super important. People doesnt know where to put the content in a website or how to make accessible. Many times i use google due to this fact. - Make a family subscription. - make it funny, easy to use and welcoming. The branding is SUPER important. Good luck and I really wish you to succeed! Im paying for an account ;)
my_throwaway23
As much as I'd prefer a smaller, non-american operator (for most anything really), I'm extremely hesitant to pay directly for search. For this service, the "just an ID as account" looks nice and private on the surface, but once you look at payment methods, it's 100% personally identifiable. If it's so privacy-focused - where's the payment option for transferring Monero? As for the code - don't get me started. Source available? NDAs? Smells "Private VPN" funny to me.
Cider9986
I will pay for search once Kagi or Brave accepts Monero and offers a reasonable price. Can I pay for Uruky with Monero? If you're worried about regulations consider reaching out to proxysto.re
cromka
I hate to say this, but those recent EU alternative counteroffers for popular products bare some really unfortunate names....
alex7o
I live in the EU and I use kagi, but I think you fail to understand why kagi is good and useful. In the end of the day I need a search engine to find stuff and kagi is better than google for the things I and my AI agents are searching for. If you don't get that no amount of better privacy is worth my time as a person as shit searches mean agents don't works so well a.k.a more expensive or my room becomes toastier for the agents that I run locally. (I can use it for boring personal searches, but I do 2/3 of these a day, so I am not paying 5€ for that)
carlosjobim
I think this is excellent so that Kagi can focus on making the best search engine instead of trying to please the angriest and most difficult customers.
wolvoleo
Interesting. Being EU-based is a huge plus over Kagi in my opinion. I also like that they don't ask any personal data, even email address. I like services that don't want any personal details. Like with Mullvad, where they just give you a random number and that's your account ID <3 Unfortunately Mullvad enshittified in other ways so I had to move to ProtonVPN. But services that act like that are great IMO. Unfortunately a lot of services apply "Know your Customer" BS even though they are not in the financial sector. However I wonder where they get their search data from. But it's worth investigating.
bigblind
It doesn't do great on recent events it seems. The amusement park Walibi Belgium recently announced a company called RMC is doing a makeover of their wooden roller coaster, so I did a search for "walibi belgium rmc", and it found one very out-of-date article about earlier rumours, and a bunch of less relevant stuff.
axegon_
I'd be more than willing to subscribe and support the project BUT, I need to address the elephant in the room: The reason why I'm against Kagi is the fact that they use Yandex(be it only for images according to their own words) and I'm sure as hell refusing to give a single cent to them. So I guess my question is: sources?
asciimoo
As a search/metasearch developer, I can heavily recommend Uruky. It is by far the best third party search alternative in terms of how they approach privacy and transparency. Keep up the good work Bruno! <3
janandonly
I read in your FAQ that you don't support bitcoin payments yet. Might I suggest you have a look at https://www.lightspark.com/capabilities/embedded-finance ? They make it easy to be compliant with local laws and integrate payment features.
dizhn
Do you have Privacy Pass or some other type of privacy-preserving credentials functinoality?
Alex_toani
It's a cool search engine. I agreee that need improve in UI/UX. If UI/UX is great. I will consider to use it.
sarjann
I think it could help to maybe allow 10 searches free (without logging in) just for someone to see what the UI is like or show an example of the results page. It adds a bit of friction for someone to have to make an account and pay just to test the product. Kagi lets you test it offline (go incognito and try) " Kagi Search is funded by members, not advertisers: built to find what you need, not sell your attention. Try 50 free searches, and if you love it, sign up for 100 more before choosing a plan. Searches used "
sthix
Regarding UI/UX. One thing that immediately catches my as an Design Engineer (being over 7 years Product Designer before that) is that the site looks bland. Nothing that sticks. Also one UX caveat: you are using your accent-color for primary buttons like the sign-up as well as a display variant for text for the "PRIVATE SEARCH YOU CONTROL". The logo is not a strong one, lacks personality, the font choice is also a little "weird". Just my two cents. But I am glad, that someone is creating an alternative in the EU. Hit me up, if you want to get more design opinions.