Why use Duckduckgo

Duckduckgo is a search engine that is about 90% as good as Google. What do I mean by that? And why despite that I still recommend using Duckduckgo.

Consider a simple search query “weed remover tool.” I am looking to buy a weed remover tool. I live in Sydney, Australia and Duckduckgo (DDG) returns results pertaining to the US. I have to specify the location in the settings to get the results I am looking for. Google on the other hand lists Bunnings and US based shops without explicit prompting. In this instance the quality of the search results are if anything better for DDG, provided the location is explicitly setup than Google. I use DDG for the most part both on my desktop and on my smart-phone. Occasionally I have to switch to Google to get the specific answer I am looking for.

Why is Google better in some cases? Google has been around a lot longer that DDG. Note that every time you click on a search result you are in fact providing a response to the the search engine. The search engine uses that information to produce better results the next time. Since the vast majority of search queries are executed in Google, it has a lot more information based on user feedback to fine tune its response to future queries.

So then why use DDG? Remember the time we had more than one word processor and at least one other spread application, Lotus-123. Now there is a virtual monopoly in office suite of applications even though there is a free version, Libre Office, that does everything required. I have to pay close AU$100 every year to use MS Office at home. I have no need for all those bells and whistles and neither does the vast majority of the population. However due to networking effects, clients want to send and receive only MS Office documents. Do you really want to handover an annual subscription to Microsoft when the free version is just as good? If the average customer does not do their bit to promote competition we will land up with a monopoly which would be anti-thesis of a free market.

In the case of search engines the price you pay is privacy. Google keeps a history of all your search queries. If you live outside the US, then the US security agencies can get your search histories without your permission or notice. But Google itself has access to your search history and can tailor advertisements based on your previous search queries. This is creepy. Given that many of our purchases are impulse purchases, you actually spend a lot of money using Google, buying stuff you don’t need, at least not immediately. Given that no organisation including Google is safe from security breaches, it is still possible for at least some of the data relating to you, to land up with nefarious elements. DDG on the other hand does not keep an individual’s search history. That provides you with a lot more privacy. Note that Google pays Apple billions of dollars to let Google be the default search engine on their smart devices. This is done to preempt the use of other search engines given that most customers do not change the default search engine.

On a future date Google might decide to hide results pertaining to companies that do not advertise on Google. In that case all customers will pay a price for the monopoly.

In short the marginal benefit you get from using Google is more than offset by the price you pay in privacy and the quality of results on a future date.