Privacy is always on my mind, and I use plugins in my browsers to limit my exposure to sites wanting to sell my data.
I wanted greater control over search privacy and a broader mix of sources, so I deployed and configured a private SearxNG meta search instance. The project gave me practical experience with self-hosted web services, configuration management, privacy controls, and ongoing maintenance.
Following directions, and configuring the search page to what I want I’ve posted my personal search engine which proxies all my searches and doesn’t report back any of my searches. Plus it searches multiple engines to give me a broader view.