At present has a user base of around 25 million. Whereas Google will use third party tracking and an extensive ad network to serve users with hyper-targeted ads based on a detailed breakdown of their browsing habits, DuckDuckGo instead displays ads based solely on the terms you search.ĭirect searches on DuckDuckGo increased by 600% after Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA were made public. The rest are on millions of sites and apps across the Internet and they use tracking to do better at ads on these third-party sites Gabriel Weinberg The issue with Google is they run four of the biggest ad networks in the world and only one is search-related. Weinberg has been one of the world's most vocal critics of the way Google handles user data: What is DuckDuckGo?ĭuckDuckGo is a search engine created in 2008 by entrepreneur and privacy advocate Gabriel Weinberg. without hoovering up all of your personal data. This guide will have a closer look at DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine, that claims to provide services on par with Google. In an effort to reclaim some privacy, a number of alternative providers have popped up over the years. Every search you make, every Gmail you receive, every YouTube video you watch contributes to your advertizing profile. It's no secret that Google makes money by harvesting user data and using it for advertising purposes.

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