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Private Search Engine

Building a privacy-first search engine, monetized through Google and Microsoft ads

Privacy Search A/B Testing
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Founded in the Netherlands in 2006, Startpage pioneered the world’s first private search engine. Since then, it has continued to evolve its product suite with a singular focus: making online privacy accessible to everyone. Startpage was sold to LA based advertising company System1 late 2019. I joined Startpage in 2022 to head product and expand the userbase and product portfolio.

As a product manager at Startpage, working on a privacy-first search product with an engaged and vocal user base forced a deep level of user empathy. Users come to private search because privacy is non-negotiable for them. That made every decision consequential, and reinforced the importance of staying grounded in how people actually used the product.

Background

At Startpage, I was hired as the head of product for a 20+ person cross-functional team spanning design, analytics, frontend, backend, infrastructure, customer support, marketing, and business operations. I owned three primary product lines: the Startpage web app (startpage.com), browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Edge), and mobile browser apps (iOS and Android). Later, I introduced and led the launch of the Private AI app.

As the scope expanded, I built and scaled the product function, hiring and growing the team to support the broader roadmap.

Results

Beginning in 2022, I helped scale daily searches by approximately 40%. In the search and AI category, durable daily usage is one of the clearest indicators of trust and product-market fit.

From 2022 to 2025, the business grew revenue by roughly 30%, reflecting disciplined execution across growth, monetization, and product strategy.

Privacy Preserving Monetization & Experimentation

Monetization at Startpage required operating within strict privacy and compliance constraints from search providers (i.e. Google, Bing, Brave). Without user-level tracking or profiling, optimizing revenue meant relying on privacy aware experimentation techniques and aggregate level insights rather than individual attribution.

Startpage Product Ads

I led A/B testing across multiple ad providers and partner integrations, optimizing for metrics such as CTR (click through rate), RPM (revenue per 1000 searches), RPC (revenue per click), paid and non-paid clicks to name a few. Experiments were evaluated across device, browser, geography, and platform to identify meaningful patterns while maintaining Startpage’s privacy guarantees.

In addition to core search ads, I integrated and tested third-party widgets and partner experiences, example: Tripadvisor hotels widget, to diversify revenue while preserving user trust. All experimentation and optimization was designed to improve performance without compromising Startpage’s core privacy principles.

Startpage Hotels Tripadvisor hotels integration, I spearheaded in 2024

Core Metrics

While each product line had nuances (web, app, extensions), we aligned on a consistent set of core growth and monetization metrics.

Growth

  • Installs (for apps and extensions)
  • Daily and weekly active users (this was not exact, but approximated without having to collect unique user data)
  • Daily searches
  • Daily sessions

Engagement

  • Paid clicks
  • Non-paid clicks
  • Searches per session

Revenue

  • Revenue per user
  • RPM (Revenue per 1000 searches)
  • RPC (Revenue per click)
  • Ad coverage
  • Spam clicks
  • etc.

My contributions

  • Defined product strategy and requirements, providing cross-functional leadership for a $XXM+ private search business
  • Led several experiments on ad placement, channel quality, and spam reduction to improve RPM while preserving user privacy
  • Conducted A/B tests on search surfaces and integrations to evaluate Google and Microsoft ad performance
  • Led product requirements and successfully launched Startpage’s private browser apps on iOS and Android (4.8 rated across 1M+ downloads)
  • Reviewed every single Startpage user feedback and took action on the top issues
  • Spearheaded private API integrations with OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and other major partners
  • Collaborated with Microsoft on a custom private search integration of Bing into Startpage
  • Modernized web based private browsing mode (Anonymous View)
  • Launched multiple high impact search features, including local maps, knowledge panels, and hotel results
  • Owned and delivered key improvements to Startpage’s private search extensions across Firefox, Chrome, and Edge.
  • Defined multi-year private search product strategy in partnership with engineering, design, and business leadership
  • Hired, mentored and supported team members across key product initiatives

Startpage Browser Apps The Startpage browser apps for iOS and Android launched in mid 2024 and have since reached 1M+ downloads with a 4.8+ store rating.

Local Search Partnered with MapQuest to deliver private local search results to the Startpage audience.