Google is an impressive search engine and it has literally changed how the world works and how things are found. However, there are many people who rightfully are not happy wit Google and how it is working. The biggest reason people are not happy with Google is that privacy and Google are two things that do not mesh.
Google searches are tracked and ultimately what that means is everything you search for is essentially kept around and now the service knows exactly what you are seeking and tries to anticipate your needs. This is nice, but what if your searches are location based? Now people may know a little too much about where you are and what you are doing. This is why many people are getting rid of Google and going right to DuckDuckGo.
There are plenty of alternatives to Google. Just because Google has a massive ecosystem doesn’t mean there are different ways to get around the programs. For example, the alternative to Gmail is Outlook, Docs is MS Word, and Sheets is Excel.
Granted, these are all MS Office programs. But, a great alternative to Google Drive is Dropbox. The truth is you can go anywhere on the internet and find a list of alternatives to Google products, but one thing you will see time and again is DuckDuckGo as the alternative to the Google search, and this is for good reason as DuckDuckGo does a lot of great things Google doesn’t.
No Tracking
When you go into a search engine you are putting in serious information including your medical, personal, and financial information. The reality is this information should be private, but Google doesn’t do that. Your searches are packed, then mined, and finally sold as data to advertisers – and this is why you have those annoying Google ads!
The reality is you don’t need to track anyone to have a successful search engine. What Google figured out is how to monetize searches. Google understands there is a ton of money to make here, and the reality is the customers is not served by having their searches tracked. Also, if you are thinking that you can just do Incognito mode, well, this is a misnomer. Incognito mode just erases your browser history when your done, but your IP can still see where you went and perhaps even your search history.
DuckDuckGo works differently. Nothing is tracked, when you visit this site, it will feel like the first time you have been on it. And that is the case any time. There is no storage of data on DuckDuckGo. You simply search and it is as if you never searched. This is great for getting out of the Google rat race.
No Lurking
Google literally offers no privacy. Guess what, when you use Maps, Chrome, Android, Gmail, and YouTube, any searches you run there are logged. The good news is you can live a life without Google, and the place to start is DuckDuckGo.
There is more to it though than just those sites. Google is tracking everything, and these trackers are present in 75% of the one million most visited sites. The next largest is Facebook, and that is only found on 25%. The bottom line is Google trackers are everywhere. This is of course in search of mega advertising dollars that allows Google to be such a behemoth.
Google Analytics is key for site owners. It lets them know who is visiting sites and allows them to spend their ad money wisely. Here’s the thing though, those ads that follow you throughout your travels online – they are a product of Adsense. Advertisers get your patterns and use it against you.
The great thing about DuckDuckGo is that there is protection from all this nonsense. With the browser extension and mobile app, the Google trackers are blocked along with those from Facebook and other services. This means you get to surf the web with freedom.
Unbiased Results
The Google algorithm is supposedly the most brilliant thing ever devised, and in a lot of ways it is. However, one way it isn’t is that the algorithm gets you search results based on what it thinks that you are interested in – not in your actual question. The reason for this is Google keeps applying its data profile to you and to all the different things that you are searching, so your results are not very organic, to say the least.
Here’s the thing, many people do talk about how they want something personalized, but the reality is that searches are meant not to be personalized but localized. Most people want to know what the weather is like in the area they live or what are the best restaurants nearby. The good news is that DuckDuckGo can provide the same services while not tracking you. Your computer’s location is automatically embedded when you make a request, so we give you local results, not a hodgepodge of national nonsense.
The other problem with the results from Google searches is that they show the results the algorithm supposes you will click on. This gave rise to the nickname of the “Filter Bubble.” What this means is you don’t get what you want, you get what Google thinks you want.
This can affect your civic life too. For example, if you are someone who is more of a left leaning person in politics, this means Google will tailor your news to your political views, which means you have siloed your facts and in many cases these facts are the things that add context and flavor. Having unbiased news is critical to being an informed citizen.
The reality is the filter bubble is something that you should always be keep to avoid. You’re seeing in results what Google thinks you want, not what you may actually want. And this is the same with Incognito mode as well. So the reality is no matter what Google system you use, your stuff is being altered based on your habits.