Presearch, a groundbreaking decentralized search engine founded in 2017, announced its latest developments on September 18, 2023. The platform is powered by nearly 70,000 user-operated nodes across more than 100 countries, aiming to disrupt the dominance of Big Tech search engines by prioritizing user privacy, choice, and rewards.
Why Presearch Matters
Traditional search engines collect vast amounts of user data, invade privacy, and profile individuals for profit while controlling global information access. Colin Pape, founder of Presearch, stated: “The world needs a search engine that is created by the people, for the people, in a way that protects privacy, can’t be censored, and runs on decentralized infrastructure to provide resilience. That’s what we’re building here with Presearch.” Presearch leverages blockchain technology to achieve censorship resistance, independence, and antifragility—much like Bitcoin’s core principles.
What is Presearch?
Presearch is a blockchain-based search engine that respects user privacy and choice while providing rewards. Unlike conventional search engines, it does not track online activity or sell data to advertisers. Instead, users control their search experience by selecting preferred search providers and customizing results. In centralized models, users are the product; with Presearch, users own the value of their searches through Search Staking, earning PRE tokens—the native cryptocurrency powering the platform. These tokens also reward individuals worldwide who run Presearch’s node software, which supplies decentralized computing resources instead of massive data centers. Advertisers pay for ads in PRE, completing the value cycle. The project aims to be censorship-resistant, independent, and antifragile, similar to Bitcoin.
Key Features of Presearch
- Privacy: Searches are private and not tracked. No personal profiles or targeted ads are generated.
- Choice: Users can select from over 100 different search providers with one click, offering flexibility in results.
- Rewards: Users earn PRE tokens by participating in the platform. Tokens can be staked, traded, or used for perks like AI search.
- Community: The project is crowd-funded, community-driven, and implements governance through the Presearch Foundation.
- Decentralization: Powered by blockchain and user nodes, with plans for full open-sourcing as the project evolves.
Latest Presearch Innovations
- PreGPT AI: Initially powered by OpenAI, the project is building a decentralized AI offering that will run on Presearch nodes.
- Search API: Enables other search engines, applications, and AI experiences to be powered by Presearch results.
- Search Staking: Stake at least 1,000 PRE to earn elevated rewards for up to 25 searches per day.
- Keyword Staking: Companies can gain website traffic by staking PRE tokens. The advertiser staking the most tokens for a keyword has their ad displayed. Advertisers can withdraw tokens anytime, making traffic nearly free (minimum stake: 100 PRE).
- Node Staking: Node operators help process requests within the ecosystem and earn rewards. The minimum stake is 4,000 PRE per node.
How to Get Started
- Sign up for a free account at presearch.com.
- Customize: Choose preferred search providers and settings.
- Search and earn PRE tokens. The more you search, the more you earn.
- Search Staking: Stake at least 1,000 PRE to boost rewards.
About Presearch: Founded in 2017, Presearch’s mission is to provide a user-focused, decentralized search engine that respects privacy, enables choice, and rewards community participation. It is powered by blockchain technology and a passionate global community. For more information, visit presearch.com or join the community on Twitter, Telegram, Discord, Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook.