I switched from Google to DuckDuckGo: 5 surprising takeaways

Google is much and away the most well-liked search engine—however generally it could possibly really feel extra like Big Brother and fewer like a pleasant assistant. Indeed, for these involved about privateness, Google oversteps some boundaries by amassing your private information, and serving you advertisements primarily based on what it collects. Enter DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine with its personal desktop extension and cell browser app.

DuckDuckGo touts itself because the anti-Google, promising to not monitor or gather your information. It affords a clear interface and acquainted format, and supplies most of the options you’ve come to count on from a search engine—however with out these invasive information trackers.

On paper, DuckDuckGo looks as if a worthy competitor. But how does it actually stack as much as Google? To discover out, I switched to DuckDuckGo and used the service completely for per week. Here are my 5 key takeaways.

1. DuckDuckGo is refreshing

DuckDuckGo’s privateness options stunned me with how liberating they really feel. The service insists that it doesn’t gather person information or monitor you throughout totally different web sites. It additionally doesn’t affiliate your looking along with your IP deal with, and received’t save your search historical past.

For somebody who has used Google most of his grownup life, this feels oddly refreshing. I barely keep in mind a time when my each transfer wasn’t tracked, analyzed, after which marketed again to me by focused strategies and advertisements. 

Using DuckDuckGo introduced me again to an easier time when a search engine was solely there to reply questions like, “What is the best laptop under $1000?” or “What was Tim Robbins’ character’s nickname in Top Gun?” (It was Merlin.)

Privacy is the most important draw of DuckDuckGo, and it applies it in a method that doesn’t really feel limiting. The total time I used to be utilizing the search engine, I didn’t really feel inconvenienced by the dearth of personalization. Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo received’t auto-suggest new searches as a result of it doesn’t gather your search historical past, however this felt like a small value to pay for extra non-public looking.

Another refreshing privateness characteristic: DuckDuckGo actively blocks exterior trackers from following you round on-line. So, not solely does the service itself preserve your looking non-public, it additionally prevents third events from monitoring you as nicely.

2. DuckDuckGo has an excellent UI

Before I began utilizing DuckDuckGo, I had this picture of a bare-bones search engine, a la early 2000s Google. It proved me unsuitable. Very unsuitable. The DuckDuckGo designers have put lots of thought into usability, and it reveals. The interface is aesthetically pleasing with a clear and easy format that doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel.

Make no mistake, DuckDuckGo has an identical really feel to Google (however then once more, so do all trendy engines like google). Elements corresponding to advert placements and information panels are ripped straight from Google. This isn’t essentially a knock on DuckDuckGo, nonetheless. The engine’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” method to design works completely nicely. 

They’ve even cleaned it up a bit and added some welcome adjustments. For occasion, DuckDuckGo doesn’t break up outcomes throughout pages. Rather, once you attain the underside of a web page, you possibly can simply click on “See more results” in an limitless scroll. This is a minor tweak, however it felt higher than clicking forwards and backwards by pages and pages.

3. Yes, you possibly can escape from advertisements

This sort of goes together with the primary level on this checklist: Since DuckDuckGo doesn’t monitor your looking historical past, it can not give you focused customized advertisements.

As you utilize its providers, Google creates a profile on you primarily based on private information, corresponding to your search habits and buying historical past. This information is then utilized to advert focusing on, resulting in extremely particular advertisements popping up on seemingly each web site you go to. For instance, once I searched Google for stuffed toys to purchase for my younger nephew’s birthday, each web site I visited for the subsequent few weeks saved exhibiting me Pokemon plushies of their banner commercials.

But I had none of those similar commercial hauntings whereas utilizing DuckDuckGo. When I looked for one thing, the outcomes web page would present only some associated commercials alongside the right-hand aspect, or above the primary outcomes. These advertisements have been solely related to what I used to be looking out, and by no means adopted me round whereas looking different web sites. In truth, whereas utilizing DuckDuckGo, I observed fewer commercials usually. In a day and age after we’re consistently bombarded with flashing advertisements and pop-ups, this made for a extremely nice looking expertise.

Sam Singleton

4. You’ll commerce some search smarts for privateness

Google is nice for locating issues I simply can’t fairly keep in mind. I enter a couple of random information that I do keep in mind, and it’ll normally will give me the reply. When I attempted these similar sorts of searches with DuckDuckGo, it simply didn’t have the algorithms (or information?) to ship. 

In the screenshot under, you possibly can see that I used to be on the lookout for the title of a film (Men Who Stare at Goats) primarily based on a random scene. Since I didn’t know the film’s title, I as a substitute searched utilizing “film george clooney do you have superpowers scene”. Google returned the film I used to be on the lookout for on the primary consequence, whereas DuckDuckGo merely couldn’t discover it. Now this can be a moderately particular instance, however customers have come to depend on Google delivering nice outcomes with sparse inputs.

Sam Singleton

Of course, one of many predominant causes Google is so efficient is that it collects and shops person information, after which tailors it for personalization. Without tapping into an enormous library of contextual information, DuckDuckGo will proceed to fall behind Google in returned consequence accuracy.

5. I actually miss Google maps

After completely utilizing DuckDuckGo for per week, I can say that I formally miss the way in which Google search seamlessly hooks into Google maps. Sure, DuckDuckGo has a maps characteristic offered by Apple, however it isn’t the identical. Just like once I’m utilizing an iPhone, I favor to make use of Google Maps moderately than the pre-installed Apple Maps. It simply feels higher when it comes to the accessible information and its reliability.

Sam Singleton

Something else I missed is direct entry to your complete Google ecosystem. Both in my private {and professional} life, I’ve come to depend on Google apps corresponding to Drive and Google Workspaces. Google has executed an awesome job connecting all of their options seamlessly collectively. Not having the ability to combine these with my search engine expertise felt like I used to be lacking a bit of the puzzle.

Will I swap to DuckDuckGo completely? Should you?

Should you turn to DuckDuckGo? It is determined by what you need out of your search engine. Do you worth privateness above all else? Then go forward and make the swap. Do you need probably the most correct outcomes and most superior options? Then you’ll wish to persist with Google.  

As for me, I plan to proceed utilizing DuckDuckGo. I’m a jaded millennial and I grew up within the age of web information monitoring. I had way back accepted that my privateness can be sacrificed for extra correct outcomes. But what I discovered from this little experiment was that, for probably the most half, what we’re all looking for on-line is fairly easy and easy. 

While Google is ready to precisely guess what you’re on the lookout for, a bit extra hand-holding is required with DuckDuckGo. This doesn’t imply that DuckDuckGo can’t discover what you’re after. It simply implies that you could have to change your search parameters. The streamlined Google internet looking I’ve turn out to be accustomed to through cookies, auto-fill, and personalization are in fact a comfort. But with out these bells and whistles, the outcomes are largely the identical.

And I determine, if the outcomes are the identical, why not err on the aspect of privateness?