I respect that you're making a principled choice, even though we see this differently. Kagi uses products and services from companies around the world, including the USA, Europe, and China, but that does not imply endorsement of the actions (past, present, or future) of any of the governments where those companies are based. We'd rather focus on building great software than on things in the world we can't control. Our decisions are guided by the relentless pursuit of the best product quality, user privacy, and our goal of providing a user-centric alternative to dominant tech platforms.
edit: I encourage you (and others in similar dilemma) to watch our origin story to see why are we here and what it is that we stand for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSntB1ip4RE
Unfortunately, paying money to an economy of a country which started and still wages an unprovoked war against another country, killing civilians indiscriminately, is a choice. The only reason you can "focus on building great software" is because you are not in Ukraine, where Russian bombs paid for by the aforementioned Russian economy would be falling on your head.
Not to mention the problematic nature of trusting any data coming from a country known for state-sponsored deception, trolling and organized operations in informational warfare.
(to the inevitable whatabouters: yes, this can also be applied to other economies/countries, everyone makes their own moral choices on where to draw the line, but the line should be drawn somewhere)
I actually do know what it’s like to have bombs falling on my head. I lived in Serbia during the US-led bombing in 1999. I continued using US company products during and afterward, and eventually moved to the United States, while many of my fellow countrymen drew a line similar to yours. I never felt that companies or individuals elsewhere owed me a boycott on my behalf. That experience shaped my reluctance to treat commercial relationships as endorsements of governments or their actions.
I acknowledge everyone draws their own moral line. I respect where you’ve drawn yours, and I ask for the same consideration in return. I don’t think either of us is going to change the other’s mind, so I’ll leave it here. I genuinely appreciate that you care enough about Kagi to have this conversation.
Writing as an internet rando (to another?): please don't make such comments.
Phrasing it as "X deserved to be bombed" is needlessly inflammatory. I agree that something had to be done and that given the choice between inaction like in Bosnia and the NATO intervention like we for Kosovo, I'd easily pick the latter. It's even plausible that the NATO intervention was close to the best that could be done and any harm was a "necessary evil". However, saying that the civilian population of the undemocratic Yugoslav state deserved to have their lives disrupted by being bombed (or worse??) is just cruel.
I don't think your comment will convince the previous poster or (most importantly) unrelated third parties.
(For the record: the implicit comparison between the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the NATO intervention in Serbia, by the previous poster _is_ IMO deeply dismaying.)
If the option existed to remove various sources for search results (for me, Yandex, and hopefully any payment to them) existed, I’d be back.
I was more tolerant of my money going to US companies when I first tried Kagi, but my views have shifted a lot in the last year or so.
US actions have shifted in recent times, and it’s just foolish belligerence now. There was a bit of nuance in the past but at present it doesn’t even serve US interests.
> Not to mention the problematic nature of trusting any data coming from a country known for state-sponsored deception, trolling and organized operations in informational warfare.
What, like the United States of America?
I find it so odd that people think Kagi's commercial agreement with Yandex is more offensive than theirs with Google or Microsoft, both of whom have contracts with the US military. Surely they're equally as abhorrent, particularly the use of their AI models for combat warfare purposes.
> (to the inevitable whatabouters: yes, this can also be applied to other economies/countries, everyone makes their own moral choices on where to draw the line, but the line should be drawn somewhere)
Genuinely curious: on the correct side of your personal line, what services do you now use that replace Kagi? Presumably they'd be EU-based, like Qwant or Ecosia?
I similarly stopped subscribing when I realised they were paying money to Musk for grok, and I refuse to fund that man in any way. I hadn't seen the Russian data usage. The Kagi founder above states that using these services doesn't imply support of the governments or owners behind them, but that's a crock of shit. Using their services is, at best, an indicator of a complete lack of principles to a degree that I can now never use their service. He asks for respect for his moral line above, but no-one owes him that - not every viewpoint deserves respect.
Being principled in your choice of services as an individual these days is challenging, as so many companies pursue money over all else. It is doable, however, and Kagi won't feature in my life again no matter how many cool features they add. The internet has become such a cesspit that it warms my heart to know there are still other people who believe in being good and principled, not just making money.
