I’m looking into self-hosting a SearXNG instance for my own use. One thing I don’t get is how the results are aggregated if I’m using a local instance. Is it just going to all the configured search engines and making requests? If that’s the case, what’s the benefit of using SearXNG instead of just going to that search engine myself from a privacy perspective?
Yes, searxng is indeed making requests to all configured search engines.
The intended use of searxng is to proxy searches for many users, making tracking individuals difficult for the search engines, since everyone’s data is mixed together.
Using searxng does however also bring some benefits if used by one person only:
I personally use a private instance mostly because I like the simple search results page.