JCC members noted that there had been adverts for the Browser/Search engine DuckDuckGo on TV recently. Why is DuckDuckGo advertising itself so much? It’s been around for 16 years! –
What is it?
DuckDuckGo is an American software company that offers a number of products intended to help people protect their online privacy. The flagship product is a search engine that has been praised by privacy advocates. Subsequent products include extensions for all major web browsers and a custom DuckDuckGo web browser. ….. the company was launched on February 29, 2008,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuckDuckGo
Why that name? – It was chosen by company founder Gabriel Weinberg from the children’s game “DuckDuck Goose” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck,_duck,_goose
There are hints about “Why all the advertising now?” in changes to US law and the economic impacts of this change. Here are some quotes from the Economist August 10 2024
“Google is a monopolist,” wrote Amit Mehta, the judge of a district court in America, adding that “it has acted as one”. His ruling, handed down on August 5th 2024, could lead to big changes for the multi-billion-dollar search market—and for the wider tech industry.
Google handles around 90% of search queries in America (including 95% of those on mobile phones), forming the foundation of the world’s largest advertising business. People use it partly because it is good at finding things, but also because it is usually the default search engine on their phone or browser. Google maintains this privileged position by paying colossal sums to phone-makers and browser-developers. In 2021 these payments came to $26bn, the trial revealed.
Perhaps most likely is that Google will be banned from paying for the right to be the default search engine on platforms like the iPhone. Consumers could instead be presented with a choice of search tools. Something similar already happens in the EU, where Google was ordered to offer consumers a choice over their default search engine on Android phones in 2018 (Apple has recently been forced to do the same with browsers on its iPhones). So far, it seems that consumers faced with these choices mostly opt for brands they already know. Google’s share of search requests in the EU had not budged by 2021, according to Search Engine Land, a news site.
If Google was forced to end the arrangements in question, the main immediate loser might be Apple. Google pays it around $20bn a year to be the iPhone’s default search engine, the trial revealed. That is equivalent to 18% of Apple’s operating profit last year. Banning such deals would deprive Apple of a big chunk of cash. Many consumers are likely to stick with Google anyway—at least for now.
But here’s a side note from an article by Nord VPN
https://nordvpn.com/blog/is-duckduckgo-safe
Apple and DuckDuckGo held around 20 meetings discussing this cooperation over the course of three years (2016-2019). However, due to DuckDuckGo’s ties with Apple’s competitor Microsoft, the companies didn’t reach an agreement.
— Perhaps DuckduckGo couldn’t pay Apple enough money.??
Duck Duck Go – is it safe? Is it any good?
Here’s the Duckduck Go publicity blurb:
https://spreadprivacy.com/is-duckduckgo-a-good-search-engine
It includes stuff like “bangs” and its own YouTube player
What are the sources for its searches?
https://sitechecker.pro/what-is-duckduckgo-search-algorithm These include “…. results from over 400 sources, including big search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex. It also fetches data from crowd-sourced sites like Wikipedia, and other specialized platforms to ensure comprehensive search results.”
Here are some comments from NORDVPN
https://nordvpn.com/blog/is-duckduckgo-safe
The search engine stands out from its competitors for stringent privacy policies and transparency when handling user data. …however
In 2022, reports emerged that DuckDuckGo wasn’t blocking trackers from certain Microsoft-owned platforms, including Bing and LinkedIn, due to its newly established partnership with the company. However, in August of the same year, DuckDuckGo claimed to have eliminated the gap in the company’s partnership agreement and assured that the platform doesn’t allow Microsoft to use tracking scripts. Since then, a number of independent experts have confirmed this to be true.
Nevertheless DuckDuckGo also has a separate advertising partnership with Microsoft, which enables Microsoft to place its ads within the search engine. However, this partnership is limited to ad placement and doesn’t enable Microsoft to build user profiles based on ad clicks.
You’re still prone to malware risks
As with any other online tool, the DuckDuckGo search engine is susceptible to viruses, malware, and other online threats that may hide behind legitimate-looking websites or links. Though DucDuckGo attempts to filter malicious search results, no search engine can guarantee complete protection against harmful websites.
But, it’s worth noting the cost of anonymizing your internet activity. DuckDuckGo cannot personalize your experience to any degree.
If you like to do your clothes shopping online, Google can get to know your preferences and steer you toward results you’re more likely to appreciate. DuckDuckGo can never do that. For searches where personalization makes things easier, Google is the clear winner.
Here’s a very recent comparison between Google and DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo vs Google: Which is Better for Search in 2024? https://www.fortismedia.com/en/articles/duckduckgo-vs-google
We looked at the DuckDuckGo browser extension in Chrome (which turns the default Search engine into DDG) and the DuckDuckGo browser. We compared the appearance of DDG’s search results with those of Chrome (there seemed to be a lot of adverts at the top of the DDG listings). We also looked at DDG’s YouTube player, and “bangs” feature https://duckduckgo.com/bangs ” Bangs are shortcuts that quickly take you to search results on other sites. For example, when you know you want to search on another site like Wikipedia or Amazon, our bangs get you there fastest. A search for !w filter bubble will take you directly to Wikipedia” We noticed some weird-looking websites among the 13,567 listed “bangs”!
Some members preferred to use the “Brave” browser (https://brave.com ) instead of DDG. This browser also prides itself on privacy settings. Chris likes the highly customisable Vivaldi browser (an employee-owned company, headquartered in Norway), and demonstrated how it gives the choice of several search engines on the fly. These include not only DDG, but also non-US search engines such as Qwant and Ecosia (incidentally Vivaldi also has built-in privacy settings!)
Future trends?
AI is everywhere – and is coming to disrupt searches on all your devices!
On July 25th OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, launched SearchGPT, its own AI-powered search engine. Apple is also leaning heavily towards AI-based alternatives. Siri, its dimwitted voice assistant, currently functions as little more than a glorified egg-timer. But in the next few months it is due to get an AI-powered makeover designed to help users with the kinds of tasks for which they might previously have scoured the web. In time, innovative new ways of accessing the world’s information may disrupt Google’s business in ways trustbusters could only dream of. (The Economist August 2024)
Chris Betterton-Jones – Knowledge junkie