Search engine: Duck Duck Go versus Google

By Christopher Turton, 25 August, 2020

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi,some people prefer duck duck go as a search engine,how is it better than google?

Options

Comments

By Gar on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - 05:18

Hello Chris,
DuckDuckGo is my search engine of choice for a number of reasons.
With Google, everything you do online is tracked, and used to "personalize your experience."
In other words, cookies and other such junk allow Google to see everywhere you go, everything you do, and they make money from it. They do not care about you.
DuckDuckGo on the other hand does not track you. It is just as accessible with Google and in my opinion, actually a bit more pleasant to navigate. But the big thing is privacy. DuckDuckGo does not have an account system. It does not use tracking cookies. So ads that appear are more randomized, less invasive. They do not sell your data to third parties.
In other words, Google services milk everything they can from your online life, sell what they get, and proffit off of you all while creepily following you around with ads for those hot dogs you looked at online last week. DuckDuckGo is a non-proffit that just wants to make the internet less creepy.
I hope this helps.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - 05:18

I use it on desktop. Privacy aside, there's simply less garbage you have to wade through in order to get to the important bits. Search results use level 2 headings, and occasionally something like a word definition will use a level 3 heading. There aren't sections or other trash you have to move through. There are ads, yes, but it's nowhere near as bad as Google. Oh, and if you want to use DDG to search on google, simply add "!g" to the beginning of youre search string. You will then recieve Google search results (complete with all the extra fluff), but that search isn't tied to you.

By Christopher Turton on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - 05:18

In reply to by Unregistered User (not verified)

Thanks for your advice! I am going to give it a go

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - 05:18

I wonder how it work on iOS 14 with the new changes in privacy and blocking ads with both?

By Ekaj on Saturday, December 16, 2023 - 05:18

I've used DDG's search engine before and it is very accessible at least with VoiceOver on the Mac. But I was up until now relatively unaware of their web browser and apps. I'll admit that I've never really been bothered by the fact that Google tracks me, but what has bothered me is the fact that you have to weed through extra crap in order to search for something. I like Safari and Chrome even with their quirks, but will definitely have to check out more of DDG sometime. I have a gmail account, but might consider getting rid of it if I don't like the new way of accessing my mail after New Year's Day. How accessible is DDg's email service?