Privacy
Short version: SearchZee keeps minimal data, only what's necessary to run the service fairly. No accounts, no search history, no tracking. This page has the details.
What we don't collect
- No accounts — there's no sign-up, so we never collect names, emails, or passwords.
- No persistent tracking cookies — no fingerprinting, no cross-site tracking pixels.
- No search history tied to you — your queries aren't logged against an identity.
What does get processed
Session cookie. When you load the homepage, a short-lived session cookie named szs is set in your browser. It contains a random value and is used only to distinguish real browser sessions from automated API traffic. We don't read the value server-side beyond confirming its presence — no PII is stored.
Rate limiting. When you use the search API, your IP address is stored in our rate-limiting store (Vercel KV) for up to one hour. This enforces a per-IP request cap to keep the service fair for all users. The stored entry contains only the IP address and a request count — no query content, no identity.
Vercel platform logs. Our server provider (Vercel) may also keep transient access logs that include IP addresses for security and operational purposes. These are Vercel's own operational records, not analytics.
Search API
SearchZee uses a third-party search API to retrieve results. Your query is transmitted to this API to fetch results in real time. We do not store queries on our servers, and we do not associate queries with individual users. The API provider may have its own data handling practices — we do not identify you to them.
Analytics
We use privacy-focused analytics tools — Vercel Analytics and Ahrefs Analytics — to count anonymous pageviews. These tools don't use cookies and don't track visitors across sites. We see roughly how many people visit, which pages get loaded, and where traffic comes from — not who individuals are or what they search for.
Third-party links and favicons
Search results link to third-party websites. Once you click through, those sites have their own privacy practices. We don't control them.
The small icons next to search results are loaded via Google's favicon service (google.com/s2/favicons). This means Google's servers receive a request indicating you viewed a results page containing those domains. If you'd prefer this not happen, we're exploring self-hosted favicon options.
Children
SearchZee is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from them — but since we don't collect identifying information from anyone, this is essentially moot.
Changes to this policy
If we change what we collect or how we handle queries, we'll update this page. Substantial changes will be reflected in the "last updated" date below.
Contact
Questions, requests, or concerns: contact us.