DuckDuckGo is one of the few online search engines that promises not to collect personal information, does not sell user search data to advertisers, and does not use search history to change search results.
Is DuckDuckGo safe?
The main selling point of DuckDuckGo is: to provide users with real online privacy. Not only does it not track users' online activities, but it also has embedded tools to protect users from privacy tracking by visited websites.
If you are worried about your online behavior being searched and used for advertising or other purposes, then DuckDuckGo may be the perfect solution.
The following are the main privacy features included in DuckDuckGo:
- The IP address of the computer is not stored.
- Cookies with tracking information are not stored on the computer.
- The search history will not be recorded or stored on the DuckDuckGo server.
- DuckDuckGo will not sell users' search activities to any third-party advertisers.
These are the main reasons why a large number of users choose DuckDuckGo as a search engine. Because DuckDuckGo provides special security features, it becomes one of the best search engines.
Everyone sees the same search results
In addition to the security and privacy reasons of using the DuckDuckGo search engine, there are many other reasons. Not all of these are only related to privacy.
Google is the most popular search engine in the world. However, it uses the user’s browsing activity for advertising, and it also records the search history in each search result. This means that everyone's homepage search results may be different, this is Google's personalized search function. Although this may seem like a good thing, it may limit the user’s view of what other people see on the Internet.
DuckDuckGo does not bias search results based on search history. When searching for specific terms or keywords, everyone sees the same results. In addition, DuckDuckGo will not try to bias the best results towards its own products and services like Google does.
DuckDuckGo has some special features
Many people think that using the DuckDuckGo search engine means losing embedded functionality. For example, getting calculation results in a search or launching an embedded stopwatch, which is not the case.
DuckDuckGo provides all of the following embedded functions in the search field.
- Search the site : use ! Search external sites, or @ or! @ Profile_name search for external social data.
- Expand short URL : Use "expand" to expand short URL before clicking, or use "shorten" to shorten your own URL.
- Password generator : Type "password" followed by a number to generate a strong password with multiple characters.
- Stopwatch : Type "timer" to use the embedded stopwatch/timer function.
- Site down : Enter "is [site] down" (insert site) to see if the site is closed to all other users (not just to yourself).
- Rhyme check : Type "rhymes with [word]" (insert a word) to see a list of words that rhyme with you.
- Calendar : Type "calendar" to view the highlighted today of the month.
- Loan Calculator : Enter "Loan [Amount] [Interest Rate], [Loan Term] Decrease [Percentage] to view your monthly payment.
Use DuckDuckGo privacy browser
If privacy is above everything else, consider using the DuckDuckGo privacy browser for Android or the DuckDuckGo privacy browser for iOS . If you want to embed the same DuckDuckGo privacy control into your desktop browser, you can install the DuckDuckGo browser extension for Chrome or the DuckDuckGo browser extension for Firefox .
All of these can block third-party trackers and enforce site encryption.
DuckDuckGo is not for everyone. If you need all the advanced features and personalized search results provided by Google, DuckDuckGo is not suitable as a search engine. However, if privacy and security are the top priorities, then DuckDuckGo may be the best choice.
