Kagi Reacts to Backlash
I don't have a source but this is based on my membership in the Kagi Discord server. Kagi search has decided to allow people to opt out of Brave results being included in the results and may asking Brave for free API access so that they aren't being supported. I'm still unsure about whether I'll resubscribe to Kagi. I might give Startpage a run for a bit.
I don't want to have to opt out
If the value proposition for users is so great, then make it opt-in!
The fact that they're not willing to go this far tells you everything you need to know: that it's user hostile.
I'm pretty sure it would require some major rewriting to make it opt-in. Plus they probably want the better experience for the majority of people who don't care. I wouldn't be so quick to draw conclusions
What rewrite would it take? If I can opt out it's optional. All they have to do is change the default.
They already said that the Brave API is cheaper for them. That's the motive. They keep charging the same but pay less.
That's one way to maliciously twist their words.
Giving customers more control? Great.
DuckDuckGo, Whoogle, SearxNG etc are all nice too
From my experience? They're not. Results and UI are so much worse. Aside from significantly better results, the little things like keyboard shortcuts, ddg bangs + custom bangs, lowering or raising sites in results, etc.
Kagi is pretty transparent in their publicly-readable feedback site. This is the thread that kicked off the conversation. Warning: it's a shitshow. https://kagifeedback.org/d/2808-reconsider-your-partnership-with-brave
Vlad is the founder of Kagi so you might want to focus on his replies.
There is further discussion in the Discord, which is not publicly-readable. I believe the "if we got Brave access for free" question was simply to get to the heart of users' complaints — whether they are purely financial or something deeper.
I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. It's weird to me that Brave is a line too far for people when the scale of evil that Google and Microsoft has brought to the world is so much larger and Kagi was already sourcing from them, bothering no one who chose to use the service. Don't get me wrong, Brave sucks ass. I'm queer and homophobia is of course a very close issue to my heart, but I can't find any framing that makes Brave a bigger issue than fucking Microsoft. That said, I'd ideally like to see a response focused more on a pragmatic look at possible sources than a blanket "we won't get involved in politics."
I'd prefer a totally independent search engine ran entirely according to my principles if possible, but uh, have you used them? The search quality is horrific. I don't think I'll cancel yet, but the iffy response does put them on shakier ground.
People were also put off by Kagi's response to the whole thing. At one point they claimed that "politics is one of the reasons no more innovation."
There was backlash? da faq
Brave honestly gets way too much hate tbh. I don't use it, but like they are tame compared to most tech companies, including google and micrsoft, both of which kagi also sources from. Makes no sense