Private Internet Searching with DuckDuckGo!

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DuckDuckGo

DuskDuckGo is a strange name for a search engine, but what is it and how is it different from Google?

DuckDuckGo’s main premise is that you can “search the Web without being tracked.” and their privacy policy states that “We don’t collect or share any of your personal information.”

You can go directly to duckduckgo.com, install an iOS or Android app or an extension in your web browser. An extra benefit is that the site’s privacy browser extension blocks trackers and offers encryption for every device.

But Why Should I Use DuckDuckGo?

Google is currently the most popular search engine, but they keep your search history forever and they track everywhere you go online. Did you ever wonder why when you search for a particular item, online ads keep popping up for that same item when browsing other sites? It is because Google knows who you are and what you have searched for.

Using the incognito mode in browsers doesn’t stop Google from saving your history. Companies, internet service providers, and governments can also continue to track you.

DuckDuckGo on the other hand does not store IP addresses or other unique identifiers in its search logs. This means that they cannot create a search history or data profile on you or any other individual.

How Good Is DuckDuckGo?

The big question is, how does DuckDuckGo’s search results compare to competitors? The company claims it provides “truly private search results without tradeoffs in result quality.” DuckDuckGo says it offers “everything you’ve come to expect in your online search experience” including:

  • local searches;
  • news;
  • images;
  • videos;
  • maps;
  • weather forecasts;
  • shopping;
  • calculators;
  • currency conversions;
  • flight information;
  • timers;
  • sports scores;

Can DuckDuckGo Compete?

DuckDuckGo was founded in 2008 and has steadily gained users. On January 13, 2022, the search engine announced it had surpassed 100 billion all-time searches.

According to public traffic statistics for the same week, the highest daily number of search queries DuckDuckGo had seen was 110,439,133. Just a year ago, on January 11, 2021, the company announced hitting over 100 million searches daily.

While these numbers are large DuckDuckGo remains a very niche competitor. , According to statcounter.com, Google has 87.57% of searches, Bing comes in at 6.31%, Yahoo 3.25% and DuckDuckGo 2.5%.

Protecting Your Privacy

As you can see, DuckDuckGo is an attractive and useful option for people wanting a higher level of online privacy.

There are many other ways to protect your identity online and secure the data on your business computers. Contact our IT experts today, to learn more about the best solution for your needs.