Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) - How to remove

Search Privately is a browser add-on that promises to help you delete your browsing history.

It allows you to review the items you searched for and remove them manually and it can be set to automatically delete your search history from your browsing history.

Although Search Privately gets access to your data on all the sites that you visit, it promises that it doesn’t log users’ search data.

To deliver its features, Search Privately requires that your default search engine is changed to Yahoo.

Search Privately is similar to Browse Incognito, Browse Privately, as well as Music Search for Chrome™, Movies Search for Chrome™, and others.

About Search Privately:

Classification	Potentially unwanted program, adware.
Related websites	Searchprivatelyapp.com, Searchprivatelynow.com.
Problems with Search Privately	It doesn’t help privacy and may even hurt it, some users say that the extension was installed without their permission.
How to remove Search Privately	Uninstall the extension manually, use anti-malware apps (Spyhunter for PC, Spyhunter for Mac, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others).

Problems with Search Privately

Search Privately works: it deletes browsing history as described. But it does have a few problems:

• Contrary to what Search Privately’s description says, Yahoo is not required for the extension to function. It’s only required for the extension to make money by forcing users to visit Yahoo.com.
• Search Privately asks to read your data on all the sites you visit. It says it needs this permission to check your default search engine – but it certainly doesn’t need it to change your default search engine. Asking this permission is excessive and is a huge privacy risk.
• A few users left reviews saying that they didn’t mean to install the extension. This could mean that the extension is bundled with other apps or advertised deceptively.
• Deleting your browsing history doesn’t help your privacy online. Browsing history is stored on your computer. Websites can’t read it. (They can read cookies, which are different from history.)
  And if you do want to remove your data from your device, deleting the browsing history is not quite enough. There’s also cache, download history, and other data.
• Although Search Privately does delete browsing history items, it doesn’t remove items from your search history (such as Yahoo search history).

So what is Search Privately useful for? It doesn’t protect your privacy online. I suppose it helps those who share their browser with other people in their household, but it doesn’t stop anyone even slightly determined and tech-savvy.

How to protect your privacy online

Mainstream search engines log your searches and save them as your search history. They let you choose whether you want to store your past searches (Bing search history). They also let you delete items from your search history.

This is the stuff that Search Privately does not delete because it is not stored on your computer. You need to go into the settings of each search site.

If you have a Google account, you also need to be aware of your activity (Google search history). This is also saved outside your devices.

Consider using a private search engine like DuckDuckGo. Be careful, though. We on 2-Viruses have encountered many, many search engines that claimed to protect users’ privacy, only to log their data and use it for advertising.

Be very careful of any browser add-ons that promise to protect your privacy. Try to stick to well-known and trusted products as they have to stand a lot of scrutiny.

Finally, it’s important to know that complete online privacy is pretty much impossible due to fingerprinting and other technologies.

How to remove Search Privately

You can uninstall Search Privately from your browser just like any other extension. The instructions can be found below, all you need to do is go into your browser settings and manage your extensions.

If you don’t remember installing Search Privately yourself, then a deceptive ad might have tricked you into doing it.

If you’re sure that you didn’t agree to add Search Privately yourself, then it may have been installed by a bundler (for example, OfferCore). Bundlers are flagged by antivirus programs as Adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), and other names. Check your device with antivirus apps (Spyhunter for PC, Spyhunter for Mac, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others).

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal instructions

TopRemoving Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com). Click on the trash bin icon next to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com), reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com). Click on the "Remove" icon next to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) from Firefox

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com) related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search Privately (Searchprivatelynow.com), reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.