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August 25, 2020
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Get Paid for Searching the Web (5 Best Ways)

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Permission
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Between work, families, and what little time we have to give ourselves to relax, finding ways to squeeze in some extra cash can be a challenge. Part-time gigs aren’t always feasible, and people need ways to make extra cash both on-demand and passively.

Getting paid for searching the web is a good example of passive income. You won’t make a lot of money doing this, but by opting into a collection of services that pay you for actions you’re already doing, you can build up a nice pocket of cash to pay down debt, pad your Christmas shopping stash, or use as a savings buffer.

Before we dive into our favorite search engine reward programs, we’re going to cover a few important questions and thoughts about this world:

What Does It Mean to Get Paid for Searching the Web?

Getting paid to search the web or getting paid for browsing the internet is exactly what it sounds like. You use your preferred or specific search engines, and depending on the actions you take and the keywords you search, you can earn money or points for those actions.

Where Does the Money Come From?

That depends on the platform, but typically brands pay these companies to suggest actions for you to take, observe your behavior to sell to advertisers, or both.

For example, one platform is Qwee. Let’s say you were in a shopping mood and searched for “new toaster”. If you had the Qwee extension installed, not only would you see the normal search engine results, you would also see a list of vendor links with numeric cashback values listed. If you click one of those Qwee links, let’s say one that goes to Target to check out their toaster collection, then you would receive some cash for clicking to that site, and Qwee would too.

What Makes a Good Web Search Earner?

Because the earning potential is low across the board, the best search engine reward programs are the ones you will use with the least amount of effort. In other words, you’re aiming for the platforms that either already fit into your habits or can be easily added to your routine.

Next, you’re looking for platforms that aren’t overly restrictive, and that give you meaningful progress. If the actions to qualify for points or cash back are limited, then it will be difficult to engage in these actions passively. And, if you’re looking for something you can do to make active money, then paid surveys or more professional side gigs are a better way to spend your time.

Lastly, you want to have reliable progress. If it feels more like a distraction and cash doesn’t seem to be accruing on a reliable basis, then you should change platforms.

There are also some clever ways to combine some of these passive earners to maximize your cash. We cover those below!

Our Favorite Tools for Getting Paid to Browse the Internet

Without further ado, here are our favorite programs to make money by searching Google or using search engines. Have a specific suggestion or experience with the options below? Let us know.

1. Swagbucks Browser
What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a powerhouse free reward system backed by Yahoo and offers a diverse set of ways to earn online, including web searching, videos, surveys, and opting into paid offers with cash kickbacks.

How Does It Work?

Swagbucks operates on a points system. Once you create an account, you have a variety of different passive and active activities you can opt into to earn points. Once you earn enough, you can “cash-out” by either choosing gift cards or a PayPal cashout.

How Much Can I Make?

Swagbucks is widely variable, from $10-$20 with a pretty hands-off approach to reports of $300-$400/month. Your best bet for maximizing income is to make the Swagbucks browser your default browser, use the paid and discovery offers when you can, base your activities around the daily and monthly bonuses, and take the daily polls.

In the end, it really depends on how much time you put in and what offers come through that month, but you shouldn’t expect to make more than a small amount per month.

Pros of Swagbucks
  1. Safe and reliable.
  2. Diverse earning options.
  3. Good paid offers.
  4. Has its own browser that works well for passive search earnings.
Cons of Swagbucks
  1. The surveys are a bit of a timesuck and usually aren’t worth the effort unless you’re trying to hit a certain bonus.
  2. You may not qualify for some of the surveys.
  3. Unless you really invest in understanding the platform, it can feel a bit overwhelming.
Where Do I Sign Up?

Sign up for Swagbucks here.

2. Qmee
What Is Qmee?

Qmee is a survey and browser extension company that gives cash rewards for clicking into relevant sites based on what you search for.

How Does It Work?

After you create a free account, you download their browser extension and can continue using your favorite browsers like Chrome. If you search a keyword that a Qmee brand partner has bid for, then a pop-up shows up on the left side of your browser, giving you the option to earn money by clicking into the brand’s site.

How Much Can I Make?

Qmee pays anywhere from a few cents to a dollar for clicking into certain links related to your search query, and surveys vary from a few cents to a few dollars.

Pros of Qmee
  1. Easy to use and fits easily into your existing internet routine.
  2. No minimum cash out.
  3. Set up is super easy.
  4. You can also cash out to charity, which is nice.
Cons of Qmee
  1. Sometimes you will take a survey, spend time putting in questions, and then find out you’ve been declined due to demographic reasons.
  2. The search engine feature only works on certain keywords, so this is firmly a passive earner. If you’re looking for a specific survey app, there are better options.
Where Do I Sign Up?

Sign up for Qmee here.

3. Microsoft Rewards
What Is Microsoft Rewards?

Previously known as Bing Rewards, Microsoft Rewards is an all-in-one, cross-platform rewards program based around Microsoft Products. From Bing to Xbox, to shopping at their online store, it all funnels into one reward account.

How Does It Work?

After you sign up for a free account, you can register all of your Microsoft devices. Level 1 Members start by earning up to 150 points per month from searches, and Level 2 Members earn up to 20 points a day and 600 a month from searches. The more points you earn, the higher levels, and the more perks you get.

You can earn points by searching, completing quizzes, playing certain games and completing actions on Xbox, buying from their online store, and more.

Once you have enough points, you can redeem them for sweepstakes or Microsoft products.

How Much Can I Make?

This platform is best for Microsoft power users. About 1,000 points are worth a dollar, and with search only you’re restricted to 150 points per month on Level 1 and 600 for level 2, resulting in <$1/month from search alone. If you combine your rewards account with Microsoft purchases and complete the occasional quiz, then it becomes a bit more lucrative!

Pro Tip: Combine Qmee with Microsoft Rewards to double your earning potential.

Pros of Microsoft Rewards
  1. Sophisticated System.
  2. Rewards Microsoft power users.
  3. Has points you can earn through Xbox.
Cons of Microsoft Rewards
  1. Low points to rewards ratio.
  2. Can only redeem for sweepstakes or Microsoft products.
Where Do I Sign Up?

You can sign up for Microsoft Rewards by clicking here.

4. Nielsen Digital Voice
What Is Nielsen Digital Voice?

Nielsen Digital Voice is a passive application that pays you to record your behavior and uses that data to educate their research and trends reports.

How Does It Work?

First, you download their program on your computer. After it installs, you’ll run through a series of steps before getting the all-clear. Once everything is set up, you don’t have to do anything else! You will automatically be entered into their sweepstakes.

How Much Can I Make?

All of Nielsen Digital Voice rewards are sweepstakes-based, so your rewards will vary. They give away $120,000 a year, and each month 400 members are winners from a pool of $10,000. Your winning amount is random but will never exceed $1,000 in a month.

Pros of Nielsen Digital Voice
  1. Created by a reputable company.
  2. Good sweepstake rewards are possible if you win.
  3. Completely passive earning potential.
Cons of Nielsen Digital Voice
  1. It can be a bit of a pain to set up.
  2. They are recording your behavior, so privacy cannot be a concern.
  3. No direct earnings — only sweepstakes based.
Where Do I Sign Up?

Sign up for Nielsen Digital Voice here.

5. Wonder
What Is Wonder?

Wonder is a research-based platform where companies ask anonymous questions and Wonder researchers deliver detailed responses. Rather than being a passive search app, this offers higher pay for active research. If you’re looking for something a bit more hands-on, then this is for you.

How Does It Work?

The barrier of entry is much higher for researchers on Wonder, but if you pass, then you join the platform, choose the questions you’d like to answer, and get paid based on the values listed next to the questions.

How Much Can I Make?

Between $8-$35 an hour, but that depends on your proficiency and the questions available. Wonder is best for people adept at internet research — the ability to find legitimate sources and pull useful information from them is critical to making money on Wonder.

Pros of Wonder
  1. Much higher pay than surveys and passive browsing.
  2. Freedom to choose your own questions and work when you want.
  3. Modern platform.
Cons of Wonder
  1. The application process is much more rigorous than other platforms.
  2. Wonder doesn’t accept applicants from all states.
  3. Sometimes answers are removed for unknown reasons and you don’t get paid for that effort.
  4. More mentally demanding.
Where Do I Sign Up?

Sign up for Wonder here.

Is Getting Paid to Search the Web Worth the Time?

That depends on you.

To be clear: getting paid to browse the internet is not a complete way to make a living.

But, if you can build these services into your lifestyle in a way that doesn’t subtract and only adds to your earning potential and you aren’t concerned with privacy and selling your data, then yes; they can be a good way to pad your bank account. The keys to achieving that are following the guidelines we listed above: making sure you fit them into your routine, stacking them when possible, etc.

The idea is to make them work for you and not the other way around.

What’s Next for Web Earnings?

As you can tell, the best way to get paid for searching the web is by using apps and services that work with your existing routine, but what if those services and routines didn’t have to be separate at all?

What if people could take back ownership of their data and only interact with brands when they choose to, earning passive income by permissioning their data to brands and engaging with personalized content, instead of being interrupted by annoying and bad-fitting ads or having to use specific search engines?

What if instead of search engines and eCommerce giants profiting from your data, financial value for your information was transferred back to you?

That future is possible with current blockchain and digital ID technology, and we’re building it. The Permission Browser Extension offers users cryptocurrency in return for their data. When users download the extension, they’re shown relevant ads as they browse the web, which they can choose to watch in return for crypto. With technology like this, why would you ever watch ads without being paid?

See how Permission is handing data ownership back to where it rightly belongs… in the hands of individuals.

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Only 15% of people globally say they trust AI systems, and 72% of parents are concerned about AI’s impact on their children.

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1. Your family owns its data.

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2. Parents know what’s happening online.

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3. It motivates children with rewards and incentives.

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4. It gives parents coaching and inspiration.

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5. It earns families' trust.

‍Technology for families should have a higher bar. The companies building it should stand behind it with an unconditional, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

It’s time for AI, crypto, and the technology shaping our children’s lives to meet the family-friendly standard.

Big Tobacco Had Its Reckoning. Now It’s Big Tech’s Turn.

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The floodgates are open.

Thousands of lawsuits are moving forward. States are writing new rules for kids online. And lawmakers are beginning to tell AI companies what they can and cannot do when children use their products.

And you don't have to look far to see it happening...

The courts: 3,000+ lawsuits get the green light

On August 10, the Ninth Circuit allowed more than 3,000 lawsuits against Meta, Google/YouTube, TikTok and Snap to move forward.

The cases allege that the companies deliberately designed features of their platforms to be addictive, particularly for young users.

The tech companies had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protected them from the claims. The court rejected their attempt to use Section 230 to stop the litigation at this stage, finding that it provides a defense rather than immunity from being sued.

At their core, these cases are allegations about the platforms themselves: how they were designed, how they kept people engaged, and what responsibility the companies bear for the consequences.

The companies will still have the opportunity to defend themselves against those allegations.

But with more than 3,000 cases now getting the chance to be heard, this is getting harder to argue away.

New Jersey: families get a way to enforce the rules

One day later, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the New Jersey Kids Code Act into law.

The law establishes new design and privacy requirements for covered online services likely to be accessed by minors. Among other provisions, it requires high privacy settings by default, restricts certain push notifications, prohibits dark patterns for minors, limits how children's personal data can be used and retained, and places restrictions on targeted advertising.

But one provision in particular changes the accountability equation: a private right of action.

An individual under 18 who is injured by a violation can bring a claim under the law, with statutory damages of $5,000 per violation. Parents may also bring an action on a minor's behalf.

Which is legal language for something pretty simple: families don't have to wait around for a regulator to act. They can take companies to court themselves.

Colorado: AI safety starts becoming a legal requirement

Then there's Colorado.

Earlier this year, Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado HB 26-1263, establishing specific requirements for operators of conversational AI services.

And this one is worth paying attention to because the law doesn't simply tell AI companies to "keep kids safe." It starts defining what that actually means.

Operators must estimate users' ages. When dealing with minors, the law requires recurring disclosures that they are interacting with AI rather than a person and establishes protections around sexually explicit interactions.

It also addresses one of the most unsettling questions surrounding companion-style AI: emotional dependence.

The law requires safeguards designed to prevent conversational AI from producing statements that simulate emotional dependence. It also requires protocols for responding to suicidal ideation and self-harm, privacy and account-management tools for minors and parents or guardians, and reporting requirements intended to help regulators evaluate whether those safeguards are actually working.

The law takes effect January 1, 2027.

For companies building conversational AI, that's a meaningful shift. Child safety is moving beyond a set of voluntary guardrails companies write for themselves. In Colorado, some of those guardrails are becoming law.

It's no coincidence that this is all happening at once.

Big Tobacco didn't wake up one morning and discover the world had changed its mind. The reckoning came piece by piece, until lawsuits became regulation and an industry that had spent decades setting its own standards was finally forced to take responsibility for the harm its products caused.

We're watching that shift happen again.

For years, the responsibility for keeping kids safe online has fallen on parents.

Set the parental controls. Check the privacy settings. Watch the screen time. Know which apps they're using. Figure out who they're talking to. Keep up with every new platform, algorithm and now AI chatbot entering their lives.

All while the technology on the other side of the screen gets more sophisticated by the month.

Now courts and lawmakers are starting to ask the companies building that technology a much more uncomfortable question:

If children are using your products, what are you doing to keep them safe?

For families, that's the shift that matters most.

This isn't another round of false promises to "do better."

This is legislation. These are lawsuits. This is accountability beginning to have teeth.

Parents will always have the role of protecting their children online. We happen to believe they should have far more visibility and control over the technology entering their families' lives, not less.

But parents cannot be the entire safety system.

The law is making clear that the companies designing the products, writing the algorithms and building the AI our kids interact with have a responsibility, too.

And when they fail to meet it, they'll finally be held accountable.

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Sam Altman keeps pitching AI as a co-parent. The reason parents aren't buying isn't nostalgia, it's the lawsuits.

Last Friday, Sam Altman had an idea he was excited about. Hook your family calendar up to ChatGPT, tell it what your kids are into, and every morning on the drive to school it'll produce a little podcast: one kid's soccer game that afternoon, another kid's birthday coming up, maybe some news. He called it a "cool use case."

What should’ve felt really innovative, landed like the opening scene of a bleak dystopian movie. Two kids in the back, one parent up front, and a smooth synthetic voice narrating, to everyone present, the lives of everyone present. "Later today, Maya has soccer." Maya, who has soccer, looks out the window. Nobody says anything, because the podcast is saying it for them.

The internet population caught what we caught. The reply that stuck came from Alex Hirsch, creator of Disney’s Animated series, Gravity Falls. It was seven poignant words: "What if you just talked to your children?" That was the entire rebuttal, and it traveled a great deal further than the thing it was rebutting. Altman's post drew somewhere around 9,600 likes. Hirsch's reply cleared 120,000. On the CEO's own platform, the crowd took a vote, and the crowd chose the small talk.

Now, we want to be fair here, because the easy thing is to dunk and move on. But we’re parents here at Permission and anyone who has done the 7:40 a.m. drive on four hours of sleep, refereeing a backseat dispute about who touched whom first, knows the exact fantasy of a button that handles the morning. That instinct isn't a character flaw. It's a Tuesday.

But this wasn't a one-off. Altman has been quietly auditioning AI for the co-parent role for a while now. On The Tonight Show in December 2025 he said he couldn't imagine having to "raise a newborn without ChatGPT" then added that people had managed the trick for a few hundred thousand years without it. Also, last year, in a podcast hosted by Andrew Mayne, Altman admitted that people might form “problematic parasocial relationships” to a chatbot. (You know, the one-sided kind that we usually reserve for celebrities we've never met.) He sees the hazards clearly. He's pitching the product anyway.

When visibility turns into vulnerability.

The reason parents flinched at the idea of carpooling with a chatbot for school drop off isn't that they're allergic to convenience. It's that the company making the offer is, right now, being sued by multiple families who say its chatbot played a role in their loved ones' spiraling delusions and, in the worst cases, their deaths. OpenAI says it is continually improving how its models handle sensitive conversations, and that work genuinely matters. But you can see the problem. "Let me into your calendar, your commute, and your kids personal details" is a big ask from anyone. It is a much bigger ask from a company currently explaining itself in court.

Trust isn't a feature you ship in the next update. It's something people hand you slowly, and take back all at once.

Here's where we should admit an interest. We build Permission on a belief that sounds boring until you sit with it: your data belongs to you. With Permission your kids’ browsing history doesn’t get shipped out to the open internet. Not to a model, not to a growth chart, not to whoever posts the next cool use case. And the closer AI creeps toward our kids (and it is creeping, because kids are already asking it everything) the more one question starts to outrank all the others:

Where is the line between parenting and outsourcing parenting?

Because "parenting tool" is doing a lot of quiet work in that phrase. A tool is a hammer. It lives in a drawer, it does one honest thing, and it does not ask to read your child's messages or move into the family calendar. When a company calls its chatbot a "parenting tool," it's worth asking, gently, which word they mean. The tool part, or the parenting part.

We happen to think AI can be genuinely, unglamorously useful to families. Not by doing the talking for you, but by handing you the context you'd otherwise miss instead of a thousand panicked notifications, and then getting out of the way so you can make the call. That's a real distinction, and it deserves its own piece.

So take this as Part One: the news, the flinch, and the reason the flinch is earned. In Part Two, we'll make the harder and more hopeful argument that you can let AI help you parent without completely handing over your family secrets. There is a version of this where the grown-ups stay in charge. We think it's the only version worth building.

For now, the seven best words anyone has offered on the whole affair still belong to Hirsch. So we'll give him the last one, too.

What if you just talked to your children?

‍