DuckDuckGo vs Google! When it comes to search engines,
these two represent the extremes of how search engines handle information.
We all know Google, but what about DuckDuckGo? Ah yes! As we all know,
ducks are the most private of animals. Look what happens when you mess with a duck’s privacy.
Tragic, the man never walked again
Anyway, tragedy aside, which of these two provides the best search engine experience?
Well, to answer that question, that depends on your priorities.
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-based search engine while Google is
a convenience-based search engine. What does this mean? Without getting too deep into it,
DuckDuckGo doesn’t take your information while Google does.
Now, you might think Google is sneaky about this, but… they aren’t.
But to better understand these search engines, we need to look deeper. To
help with your understanding, we will look at four different areas:
The accuracy and relevance of results The features of each search engine
And finally, the privacy and security of each search engine.
We will give you a pros and cons list for each category so you can make an informed decision.
So let's get right into it by comparing the accuracy and relevance of results.
Now, Google is the world’s largest tech company. It owns 80% of the search engine market. Because
of this attention and some fat stacks of cash, Google offers pretty good results.
Google increases relevance by using location-based data. So, for example, if you search “new
cars,” Google will give you a search engine results page, or SERP, that has local data.
The search results are integrated and relevant, combining multiple formats that show you the
newest cars, cars for sale, and nearby cars to buy. When you scroll down on this page,
you’ll also find more general results, like online resources to find cars.
DuckDuckGo, by comparison, actually isn’t too different. What you’ll notice when
comparing these results to Google is that the advertisers don’t have your location.
This is evidenced from searching “new cars” and seeing ads for autosite.com
and cars.com. Neither of them are the same directed ads you get for using Google.
The results still have location data, such as a map showing you nearby car dealerships.
So it isn’t perfect, but you can limit your location data with greater ease using DuckDuckGo.
Searching for more general terms, like recipes for grilled salmon, will yield similar results.
Although Google has more funding and can put that money into generating a more engaging page.
Google also has the “People also ask” section,
which lets people get questions answered without leaving the page.
There is one problem with Google’s obsession with relevance, it’s sometimes so relevant
that it will show you results they assume you will always go to. So if you are looking to
mix it up with a new perspective, take extra steps to overcome Google’s you-centric bias.
Here’s a roundup of those pros and cons for your review:
Pros:
Incredibly relevant search results can help you find local services and products
Specific format for looking up things like recipes Short questions can be answered without leaving
the search engine Cons:
Search results are based on your experience, sometimes sticking you in a “search bubble”
Cons: Results suffer due to lack of data use
No feature for finding answers directly on the search engine page
Pros: Doesn’t suffer from the search bubble effect
Next, we will compare the search engines based on the features they provide.
Now, both search engines include these basic features of search:
General search Image search
Shopping News
Video search And Maps
Google has a few extra such as…
Books
Flights Finance
These do what you might expect them to do,
searching for videos, images, and products that meet your needs.
Maps is the interesting one, as DuckDuckGo uses Apple Maps. Apple maps has a bit of a… Reputation
They’ve made improvements, but Apple Maps often has more issues than Google. Then again,
Apple has a better privacy reputation than Google.
The extra search features Google uses are
fairly niche. DuckDuckGo might benefit from a book search. But
other than that, the two are pretty comparable. Here’s a quick roundup of those pros and cons:
*DuckDuckGo Pros
Has general search, shopping, images, videos, and maps search
Cons:
Apple Maps is known for less accurate data Could benefit from book search
*Google Pros:
Includes general search, shopping, images, videos, maps, finance, books, and flights search.
More comprehensive integrations that change depending on how you search.
Cons: Niche searches aren’t necessary for some people
Now, we can talk about my favorite point: privacy and security.
Now, from a general security perspective, both Google and DuckDuckGo aren’t known for leaks.
One is a security-focused company while the other is the world’s largest tech company.
But assuming Google cares about your privacy goes something like this:
Google has trackers across 75% of the top websites. The only site
that comes close is Facebook, who only has 25% of the top websites.
These trackers gather everything imaginable about a person. These include…
Search data Data on what website you go to
Form data Location data
Contact information Browsing history
User identifiers, like your device information And general contact information
Google takes this data and uses it to improve “the user experience.” This means they sell
that data to the highest bidder, allowing advertisers to target you based on what you do.
If you own a Google Account, the search engine can associate this data to you directly.
Combine this with owning an Android smartphone,
and the data gathering practices Google uses virtually cover everything imaginable.
However, since the DuckDuckGo phone isn’t out, we can’t really compare that.
Even so, the amount of search engine data Google gathers is pretty creepy.
By comparison, DuckDuckGo blocks the Google trackers that are spread across
these websites. DuckDuckGo doesn’t store your data and resell it to the highest
bidder. Instead, it only allows advertisers to target you based on what you search.
Because of this, there are fewer advertisers per page. On Google, most of your top results are ads,
while on DuckDuckGo, you’ll see two ads up top, and a few on the side of the screen.
DuckDuckGo also doesn’t have any account association. So,
there’s no way to connect the data back to you with ease.
DuckDuckGo doesn’t have a completely squeaky-clean record. It was found
that Microsoft trackers were built into their search engine. Microsoft, who isn’t known for
being particularly privacy centric, allows DuckDuckGo to make use of some Bing results.
The CEO went on record, saying this data was anonymized. However,
it has made some people nervous. This brings us to the pros and
cons of our privacy section, With Google receiving a whopping zero.
*Google* Pros:
None Cons:
Tracks an uncomfortable amount of data Sells this data to advertisers
to target you directly Opt-out methods are not enough to stop tracking
*DuckDuckGo* Pros:
Doesn’t track data Doesn’t sell it to third-party vendors
No account association Cons:
Uses Microsoft trackers for search data
So, ultimately, this leads us to the question: which of the two is the best browser?
Well, that’s up to you.
DuckDuckGo isn’t inconvenient, but it offers weaker results. Google is more convenient,
but has you sacrifice your privacy and personal data for that convenience.
So ask yourself the question: how much does my privacy matter to me?
If you want to remain private while using any search engine,
you might consider a VPN. Both SurfShark and NordVPN are known
as some of the best. You can find links in the description with discounts. So,
if you want to pay almost nothing to preserve your personal information, check it out.
Outside of that, stick to DuckDuckGo if you want to focus on privacy. If you want to use Google,
avoid making an account with them. Also, delete your cookies and browsing data before activating
your VPN. That way, Google doesn’t rely on data you don’t want them to have.
Otherwise, let us know what you think about this duck-themed search engine. Is it good?
Do you have other private search engines to suggest? Let us know, and we might look at them.
If you liked the video, leave us a like and subscribe to the channel. With your support,
we can spread the message of privacy to the masses. Also,
it helps the channel grow, so thank you so much for that.
Until next time… Goodbye!