Which search engine do you use? If FOSS, which engine do it use? VPN?
There’s a relevant difference here. If the proprietary software runs on the server side and everything on the client side it’s free software, that’s very different than running a proprietary web browser on your own machine.
So as long as my search engine does not execute proprietary JavaScript and I can connect to my VPN using the OpenVPN or Wireguard client, it’s okay.
Nonetheless, it’s of course very much preferable that the server side is free software too.
I don’t care if the proprietary software comes from a mega corp or a small startup. It’s still proprietary.