Reconsider Yandex integration due to the geopolitical status quo

laacz · 26 Jan

Kagi has Yandex search integration behind scenes. Previous discussion

Pplease remove integration with Yandex. Do not consider making it as a opt-out or opt-in. It's just a bug and should be fixed.
As the russia's full scale invasion into Ukraine is nearing it's third anniversay, and occupation as such - eleventh, It's really sad that Kagi, as a company which builds on such great values, is indirectly financing
genocide. It does not matter if it's 2% or 0.2%.
I understand that somebody might mistakenly see this as a political issue. But it's just not that.
I'm writing this with a very heavy heart, as I'll have to quit using the service and urge everyone else to do so. I really have come to love and enjoy Kagi.

Temanor · 26 Jan

It is not a bug. It is a source for Kagi search results.
Also, you should not create a new issue for this. Discussion should continue in the thread you linked to.
While there may be reasons for wanting to avoid Russian companies, I still think it makes sense if Yandex offers a better experience for Kagi users.

Just because a company is based in Russia does not mean they are bad people either.

I was about to mention Jetbrains also being a Russian company, but I was wrong. Although, many of their workers are Russian and still oppose the war.

I do still see your point, and I think that if Kagi can improve their search in a reasonable way without using any Russian resources, they should do so.

RoxyRoxyRoxy · 26 Jan

laacz Pretty sure the original discussion was locked for a reason. I’m not going to talk politics but suffice to say it’s clear we disagree on the Ukraine issue. I’m a paying (Ultimate) subscriber too. I don’t want my search results to be poorer due to geopolitics, and Kagi’s stance on such matters is one of the main reasons I too fell in love with it. I would be equally disappointed as you are now if they actively made my search quality worse by taking a side on an issue like this.

[deleted] · 21 Mar

I've been a super happy user of Kagi for a while now. Such a brilliant, user centered approach to providing a service. And, based on podcasts I've heard Vlad on, behind the product there's deep thought and understanding of how tech affects the real world. The slogan "Humanizing the web" spoke to me, and I absolutely love the idea and execution of Privacy Pass. Bonus points for being on Mastodon and Peertube. For all this, I recently switched to an annual professional sub tier.

So it was quite shocking to hear that Kagi is a partner with Russian Yandex, and subsequently some of my money goes to Russia - an oppressive regime that has been carrying out an atrocious attack on Ukraine for three years now.

I saw another thread about this topic, but felt that I must contribute to the debate as well. I do understand the mission-driven focus on building the best search engine out there, but to imply that this is somehow apolitical is simply naive, no offense. It is a choice that follows the legacy of other tech (and other) companies that have ignored their impacts of the real world for the sake of doing business - it is highly political.

I thought Kagi was a different kind of tech company. "Humanizing the web but happily contributing to dehumanization out there in the world." doesn't quite do it for me as a slogan, so for now I have to end my subscription. I was getting excited for getting Orion for Linux, so I hope the situation changes before it arrives.

Cheers