While most people are unlikely to hear much about Yandex daily, it is worth mentioning that the Russian Internet company’s namesake search engine is rated fifth in the globe. When a corporation like this releases its browser, things get interesting.
Yandex Browser is a Webkit-based application that uses code from the Chromium open-source project as well as technology from Opera. Yandex seeks to increase its influence in the Internet search business as a direct challenger to the large names. Instead of using third-party apps to search with Yandex, you may now utilize the company’s browser. Is it reminiscent of someone? That’s right, Google. So, let’s see what happens.
Finding the Yandex browser is both simple and difficult. For a variety of reasons, there is very little discussion of it in Western media. One is the American industry, which must be safeguarded against the enemy, i.e. the opposition. Two, Yandex’s product is mostly targeted at the Russian market.
The setup is relatively easy. You can select whether or not to make Yandex your default browser and whether or not to provide anonymous usage data to the firm as all other browsers do. The installer will then work its magic. It imported all of my Firefox settings, even the presently active tabs, into my instance. It did not affect Internet Explorer.
Anybody using Google or Bing will recognize the Yandex home page. The majority of the landing page is taken up by a search bar for user queries. As you type your question, the engine will start auto-populating top results for you to choose from.
There are tabs for Images, Video, and Maps above the search box that can be clicked to filter results by these different categories. A Mail tab connects you to Yandex’s free email service, while Maps focuses on searchable geographic places.
When you initially access the Maps page, it defaults to Europe, but you may search for any location in the world.
By scrolling to the bottom of the results page and hitting Settings, you may further tailor your search. You may change everything here, from how filtered your results are to the types of adverts that appear when you use the search engine.
Yandex appears to be a really impressive application on paper. It contains all of the features that you’d expect from a modern browser. In addition, it contains an intuitive Smartbox skin to the Awesome bar and the comparable Chrome search, Tableau, which is similar to the dial screen in other browsers, and Opera Turbo technology for faster page loads on sluggish connections. The Kaspersky anti-virus cloud scanner is then used to scan downloads. It’s unnecessary, but it provides a sense of security.
Tableau was both helpful and difficult for me. The color scheme is more appealing and less distracting than that of other browsers. You cannot, however, simply open a new tab. Yandex will recommend its favorites if you try (spelled UK style).
You may add and remove tiles, and the process is identical to that of Windows 8. You are free to add new sites as you see fit. It’s useful, but it’s a little clumsy, and it’s a little restricting for me because it interrupts the flow of tab opening.
Yandex is open about collecting and using your personal information. The goal, according to the business, is to give all Yandex users the greatest experience possible. Searches you perform and the many Yandex products you use are used to collect information (Mail, Maps, etc.).
Yandex has also been the subject of several government data breaches involving user data and encryption procedures.
In a nutshell, using the Yandex search engine without protection may expose some of your personal information. If you use the Yandex desktop or mobile browser to access the engine, you can enable Incognito mode, which will wipe your cookies and history when you close the browser. Furthermore, when utilizing Yandex, we strongly advise using a VPN to hide your device’s IP address.
Yandex is compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Edge, Opera, Brave, and other popular browsers support the search engine.
Yandex’s mobile browser is also available on the App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android smartphones.
The default search was also a delightful surprise for me. Naturally, Yandex recommends its search engine as the first option, which leads to a Russian page. If you’re not a native speaker, it’s not very beneficial, and you get the impression that you’re not wanted. Why not use Yandex’s foreign version?
Even though the browser was set in English and I was using English as the system language, Yandex asked to translate pages. This was a little bothersome, but it’s interesting to see English as a non-default language.
Similarly, the browser took me to a Russian version of the Youtube homepage, which I had to adjust the language to use. A tiny sense of estrangement creeps up your spine once more. The Flash playback, on the other hand, was flawless.
Google, Bing, Qwant, and Ecosia are Yandex’s primary competitors. While engines like Qwant and Ecosia provide a more private experience, features such as auto-result generation based on past searches are less obvious.
Yandex is more similar to Google and Bing than other major search engines. These search engines are most well-known for storing and analyzing user data to give more tailored results, though the waters get unclear when it comes to who these corporations are selling your data to and for what purposes.
Yandex is a clean and quick browser. However, it reminds me far too much of Chrome. Moreover, it localizes the majority of its functions, removing some of its worldwide appeals. When you think about it, Yandex + Yandex versus Google + Google Chrome are essentially the same technology, and this is exactly what the Russian market needs. The mix of language searches, translations, and suggestions, on the other hand, may be too much for someone outside of Russia.
I have nothing against the browser’s aggressive mission statement, but an international version with English as the dominant language and philosophy would be ideal. Then, in the future, it will be fascinating to observe how efficient, effective, safe, and privacy-conscious Yandex truly is, especially when compared to Google. Yandex is okay for now, but it needs to do a better job of attracting non-Russian users. That is if it so desires.
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