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Kagi search engine working with Russia (fedia.io)

submitted 3 weeks ago by troed@fedia.io to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Swedish author and famous pro-Ukraine blogger Lars Wilderäng (Cornucopia) reports today that the Swedish security expert Karl Emil Nikka has revealed that Kagi is using the Kremlin propaganda tool Yandex as a backend for searches.

Wilderäng speculates this might mean search terms are leaking to Russia, while others worry about how Kremlin thus can get their talking points into western search results.

Security expert Karl Emil Nikka tells us that the search engine Kagi, popular among tech geeks, uses Russian Yandex, which was introduced after the full-scale invasion. This, of course, gives Russia the opportunity to look at what is searched for via Kagi.

Link (in Swedish), see 11:22 update: https://cornucopia.se/2024/10/uppdateras-ryssland-medger-bruk-av-c-stridsmedel-mot-ukraina-rysk-pilot-som-mordade-68-ukrainare-ihjalslagen-med-hammare-bland-de-allra-storsta-ryska-forlusterna-under-kriget-igar/

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[–] narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee 86 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I expected something more shocking when I read "working with Russia".

Kagi uses multiple search backends, and of course it needs to forward search terms to these backends. These backends probably can't trace the searches back to the individual Kagi user though, but Yandex could still analyze search trends for example.

What's worse is that - unless they use Yandex' API for free - customers indirectly (and likely unknowingly) support a Russian company with their paid Kagi subscription.

Kagi should at the very least release a statement about this claim.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I am surpised yandex aint sanctioned tbh

[–] scorp@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

probably because us government employees use its reverse image search for how good it is

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 4 points 3 weeks ago

Google nuked that feature... Hmmm

[–] montar@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago

Aside from reverse image search Yandex is wonderful for obscure things like software reverse engineering.