# Startpage News Scraper (`parsebird/startpage-news-scraper`) Actor Scrape Startpage news search results — a Google News alternative with no tracking. Get headlines, article URLs, publishers, publish dates, and preview images for any query. Filter by region, language, safe search, and time period. Export as JSON, CSV, Excel. - **URL**: https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-news-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [ParseBird](https://apify.com/parsebird) (community) - **Categories:** News, SEO tools, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 startpage news results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. - **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use). - **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`. - **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`. - **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`. - **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ### Startpage News Scraper Scrape news search results from [Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/do/search?cat=news), the leading **Google News alternative** that returns tracking-free news coverage without ads or search history logging. The Startpage News Scraper is a **Google News alternative** API for developers — enter one or more queries and get back structured headlines, article URLs, publishers, publish dates, and preview images, ready for media monitoring, brand tracking, or AI agent workflows.
Run unlimited queries with pagination, filter by 63 regions, 82 languages, safe search level, and time period — get clean news results without ads or personalization noise.
##### Copy to your AI assistant Copy this block into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or any LLM to start using this actor. ``` Startpage News Scraper (parsebird/startpage-news-scraper) — Scrapes news search results from Startpage, a Google News alternative with no tracking. Input: {"queries": ["artificial intelligence regulation"], "maxItems": 10, "region": "all", "language": "english", "safeSearch": "moderate", "timePeriod": "any"}. Fields: queries (string array, required — each query is fully paginated before the next starts), maxItems (integer, required — max news results across all queries combined, 0 = unlimited), region (63 supported locales, e.g. en_US, fr_FR, de_DE; default all), language (82 supported languages; default english), safeSearch (strict/moderate/off; default moderate), timePeriod (any/day/week/month/year; default any). Outputs per result: query, position, page, pagePosition, title, url, displayUrl, description, publisher, published, thumbnailUrl (conditional), imageWidth (conditional), imageHeight (conditional), anonymousViewUrl (conditional). API: POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parsebird~startpage-news-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN. Get token: https://console.apify.com/account#/integrations ``` ### What does Startpage News Scraper do? **Startpage News Scraper** turns any Startpage news query into structured JSON, CSV, or Excel data — the same news results you see at [startpage.com](https://www.startpage.com), but machine-readable. Startpage is a **Google News alternative** that surfaces Bing News coverage through a tracking-free proxy, making it a practical source for privacy-conscious media monitoring. Enter your queries, set your filters, and the scraper: - 🔍 Runs one or more news search queries, each fully paginated before the next starts - 📰 Extracts headlines, article URLs, display URLs, descriptions, and publishers - 🖼️ Captures preview images with width and height, and Anonymous View proxy links when Startpage includes them - 🌍 Filters by region (63 Startpage-supported locales) and language (82 supported languages) - 🛡️ Controls explicit-content filtering with strict, moderate, or off safe search - ⏱️ Restricts results to a recent time window — past day, week, month, or year - ♾️ Paginates automatically up to your `maxItems` limit, or scrape as many pages as Startpage returns - ⚡ Runs on lightweight infrastructure (128–512 MB) — fast and cost-efficient Because Startpage is a **Google News alternative**, this scraper is a practical way to pull tracking-free news coverage for brand monitoring and media research without dealing with Google's own bot defenses directly. ### What data can you extract from Startpage news results? | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `query` | The original search query that produced this result | | `position` | Overall rank across all pages saved for this query | | `page` | Startpage result page number | | `pagePosition` | Rank within that specific page | | `title` | Article headline as displayed on Startpage | | `url` | Destination article URL | | `displayUrl` | URL displayed in the result | | `description` | Article summary returned by Startpage | | `publisher` | News source name | | `published` | Publication date | | `thumbnailUrl` | Preview image URL, when present | | `imageWidth` / `imageHeight` | Preview image dimensions in pixels, when present | | `anonymousViewUrl` | Startpage's Anonymous View proxy link, when present | ### How to scrape Startpage news results 1. Open the [Startpage News Scraper](https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-news-scraper) on Apify 2. Enter one or more **News Queries** — keywords like `artificial intelligence regulation` 3. Set **Max Results** to control how many news results to collect across all queries (default: 10) 4. Optionally choose a **Region** and **Language** to localize coverage 5. Set **Safe Search** and **Time Period** if you need filtered or recent-only articles 6. Click **Start** and wait for results 7. Export your data as **JSON, CSV, or Excel** from the dataset tab **Quick start input:** ```json { "queries": ["artificial intelligence regulation", "AI safety policy"], "maxItems": 100, "region": "en_US", "language": "english", "safeSearch": "moderate", "timePeriod": "day" } ``` **European brand coverage:** ```json { "queries": ["electric vehicle battery investment"], "maxItems": 250, "region": "de_DE", "language": "deutsch", "safeSearch": "strict", "timePeriod": "month" } ``` ### Input parameters | Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | `queries` | string array | **Yes** | — | News search keywords. Each query is fully paginated before the next starts | | `maxItems` | integer | **Yes** | 10 | Maximum news results to save across all queries combined. Set 0 for unlimited | | `region` | string | No | all | Preferred result region — choose `all` or a supported locale such as `en_US`, `fr_FR`, `de_DE` | | `language` | string | No | english | Preferred result language, selected from Startpage's 82 supported languages | | `safeSearch` | string | No | moderate | Explicit-content filtering: `strict`, `moderate`, or `off` | | `timePeriod` | string | No | any | Recency filter: `any`, `day`, `week`, `month`, or `year` | ### Output example ```json { "query": "artificial intelligence regulation", "position": 1, "page": 1, "pagePosition": 1, "title": "New artificial intelligence rules enter final review", "url": "https://www.example.com/technology/ai-rules-final-review", "displayUrl": "https://www.example.com/technology/ai-rules-final-review", "description": "Regulators published updated guidance for companies developing and deploying AI systems.", "publisher": "Example News", "published": "2026-07-15", "thumbnailUrl": "https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=...", "imageWidth": 1024, "imageHeight": 576, "anonymousViewUrl": "https://us3-browse.startpage.com/av/proxy?ep=..." } ``` ### Use cases - **Media monitoring** — Track how a brand, product, or executive is covered across news outlets - **Industry monitoring** — Watch a topic like AI regulation or EV investment for daily developments - **Competitor tracking** — See which publishers cover a competitor and how often - **PR measurement** — Quantify press coverage volume and sentiment sources over time - **Content research** — Source recent articles on a topic for newsletters or briefings - **AI agent grounding** — Feed structured Google News alternative results into LLM pipelines and RAG systems - **Privacy-conscious research** — Collect news data without triggering Google's own tracking or personalization - **Trend monitoring** — Schedule recurring runs to track how coverage shifts day to day ### How much does it cost to scrape Startpage News? The Startpage News Scraper uses [pay-per-event pricing](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event). You are charged per news result scraped — no separate compute fees on top. | Event | Price per event | Price per 1,000 | |-------|----------------|-----------------| | `result-scraped` (Free) | $0.0015 | **$1.50** | | `result-scraped` (Bronze) | $0.0014 | **$1.40** | | `result-scraped` (Silver) | $0.0012 | **$1.20** | | `result-scraped` (Gold) | $0.001 | **$1.00** | Each result pushed to the dataset counts as one event. For example, scraping 1,000 results on the Free plan costs $1.50, and $1.00 on the Gold plan. [Apify's Free plan](https://apify.com/pricing) includes monthly platform credits, so you can try the Startpage News Scraper's free trial before committing to a paid plan. ### Integrations and API access Use the Startpage News Scraper programmatically via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2), [JavaScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js), or [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python). **Python:** ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN") run = client.actor("parsebird/startpage-news-scraper").call(run_input={ "queries": ["artificial intelligence regulation"], "maxItems": 50, "region": "en_US", }) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item["position"], item["publisher"], item["title"]) ``` **JavaScript:** ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client"; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "YOUR_API_TOKEN" }); const run = await client.actor("parsebird/startpage-news-scraper").call({ queries: ["artificial intelligence regulation"], maxItems: 50, region: "en_US", }); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => console.log(item.position, item.publisher, item.title)); ``` You can also connect the Startpage News Scraper to [Google Sheets](https://apify.com/integrations/google-sheets), [Slack](https://apify.com/integrations/slack), [Zapier](https://apify.com/integrations/zapier), [Make](https://apify.com/integrations/make), and other platforms via [Apify integrations](https://apify.com/integrations). Schedule runs [daily, weekly, or at any interval](https://docs.apify.com/platform/schedules) for automated media monitoring, and export results as JSON, CSV, or Excel directly from the dataset tab. ### Is it legal to scrape Startpage News? Scraping publicly available search results is generally considered legal based on the [2022 US appeals court ruling](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/) in *hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn*. This actor only accesses publicly available news search results — it does not log in, bypass paywalls, or access private data. Always review [Startpage's Terms of Service](https://www.startpage.com/en/terms-of-service.html) and comply with applicable laws in your jurisdiction. For guidance, see [Apify's guide to web scraping legality](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/). ### Related Actors Looking for other search or media monitoring data sources on Apify? - [Startpage Search Scraper](https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-search-scraper) — Scrape Startpage organic web search results, a Google SERP alternative - [Startpage Images Scraper](https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-images-scraper) — Scrape Startpage image search results, a Google Images alternative - [Startpage Videos Scraper](https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-videos-scraper) — Scrape Startpage video search results, a Google Videos alternative - [YouTube Search Scraper](https://apify.com/parsebird/youtube-search-scraper) — Scrape YouTube search results for videos, channels, and playlists ### FAQ **Is Startpage News really a Google News alternative?** Yes. Startpage surfaces Bing News coverage through a tracking-free proxy with no ads, personalization, or search history logging — making it a practical **Google News alternative** for privacy-conscious media monitoring. **How many results can I scrape per run?** Set `maxItems` to any number, or `0` to paginate until Startpage stops returning results. Results are shared across all queries in the `queries` list, and each query is fully paginated before the next one starts. **Why do my region or language filters not change every result?** Startpage ranks articles by relevance first. A strongly English-dominant query can keep returning English-language coverage even with a different language filter applied. Region and language settings bias which locale of the index is queried, but don't force a specific language onto every result. **Why don't all results have a thumbnail or image dimensions?** Not every news article Startpage indexes has a preview image. The `thumbnailUrl`, `imageWidth`, and `imageHeight` fields are only included when Startpage provides them for that result. **What is the `anonymousViewUrl` field?** It's Startpage's built-in Anonymous View link — a proxy URL that lets you open an article without the destination site seeing your IP address or browser fingerprint. It's only included when Startpage provides one for a result. **Can I schedule recurring runs?** Yes. Use [Apify's scheduling feature](https://docs.apify.com/platform/schedules) to run the scraper daily, weekly, or at any custom interval — useful for ongoing media monitoring on this Google News alternative. **Can I use this with my AI assistant or MCP server?** Yes. Copy the AI assistant block from the top of this page into ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor. You can also use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp) to connect this actor to any AI agent framework. **Something isn't working. How do I get help?** Open an issue in the [Issues tab](https://apify.com/parsebird/startpage-news-scraper/issues) on the actor page. Include your input configuration and any error messages. # Actor input Schema ## `queries` (type: `array`): News search keywords to look up on Startpage (e.g. 'artificial intelligence regulation'). Each query is fully paginated before the next one starts. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of news results to save across all queries combined. Set to 0 for unlimited (paginate until Startpage stops returning results). ## `region` (type: `string`): Preferred result region. Choose 'All regions' for unfiltered global results, or a specific locale for region-targeted results. ## `language` (type: `string`): Preferred result and interface language, selected from Startpage's 82 supported languages. ## `safeSearch` (type: `string`): Explicit-content filtering level applied to results. ## `timePeriod` (type: `string`): Restrict results to articles published within a recent time frame. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Startpage blocks most datacenter IPs outright. Residential proxies are strongly recommended for reliable results. ## Actor input object example ```json { "queries": [ "artificial intelligence regulation" ], "maxItems": 10, "region": "all", "language": "english", "safeSearch": "moderate", "timePeriod": "any", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `dataset` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "queries": [ "artificial intelligence regulation" ], "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("parsebird/startpage-news-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "queries": ["artificial intelligence regulation"], "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"], }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("parsebird/startpage-news-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "queries": [ "artificial intelligence regulation" ], "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }' | apify call parsebird/startpage-news-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parsebird/startpage-news-scraper" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/XBkpuUPSDt0ghzD1E/builds/hk1z5uZHcxr38bAIN/openapi.json