PeARS is a free search engine that you can run locally from your browser, or from your own server. It allows you to ‘index’ pages (i.e. to produce a computer-readable representation of the pages’ content, essential to the search process), and to search pages that you or your friends have indexed. In a local setting, search happens entirely on your machine, meaning that no one knows what you are searching and when. In a decentralised setting, you and your friends can get together to maintain an search engine that you have entire control over.