Everything You Need To Know About DuckDuckGo, An Alternative To Google

Every time we need to do a search on the Internet, we turn to Google. In fact, accessing the search engine has become a reflex action for millions of users around the world (it is the most visited website on the planet for a reason). Although there are other search engines, we cannot deny that Google is the leader par excellence. But what if there was a better alternative?

For some time now, a search engine with a different approach has been gaining popularity. Unlike the other available options, this search engine does not store our personal information and does not track us. We are talking about DuckDuckGo, a search engine with a clear focus on privacy.

The Search Engine that does not Store your Personal Information

As you may already know, Google uses our data to show us ads on the pages we browse. In this way, advertisers can show us relevant advertising both on websites and in applications for mobile devices. In other words, Google not only keeps track of the information we search for on its search engine, but it is also able to monitor the websites we visit. This is where DuckDuckGo comes into play, a search engine that aims to fight against these practices. Founded in 2008, DuckDuckGo aims to set a new standard of trust on the web in which users’ privacy is guaranteed.

How DuckDuckGo Make Money?

DuckDuckGo

At first glance, the search engine is very similar to Google. As soon as you access the DuckDuckGo website, you will find a search box where you can enter any term and press “Enter” to see the results. Almost instantly, you will see a series of related results appear, as it happens in Google.

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At this point, you are probably wondering what the search engine’s business model is. Currently, DuckDuckGo generates profits in two different ways: through ads and affiliate marketing. The big difference from Google is that DuckDuckGo takes a stand against tracking users and selling their personal information to advertisers.

That is, when using DuckDuckGo you will still see ads, but the ads you see will be based solely and exclusively on the search term entered and not on the information the search engine has about you (since it does not keep any personal data). In other words, the ads will be the same for everyone who enters the same search term.

On the other hand, the search engine takes a small percentage every time we make a purchase on platforms such as eBay or Amazon, which provides them with an additional source of income.

An Increasingly Popular Search Engine

DuckDuckGo Traffic

As users’ concerns about their data privacy are growing, it is not surprising that DuckDuckGo is gaining new followers faster and faster. Currently, the search engine already handles more than 2.5 billion searches per month.

It is also interesting to note that DuckDuckGo has some very interesting features. For example, it is possible to modify the appearance of the search engine. Specifically, we have at our disposal six different appearances among which there is a dark mode (very useful if you usually use the computer at night or if you are bothered by light colors). We can also make other changes, such as modifying the font type and size, the width of the page, or center the results. And not only that, since we have the possibility to change the background color of the search engine or the appearance of the results.

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On the other hand, DuckDuckGo has a kind of shortcuts known as bangs. Specifically, these shortcuts allow us to search other websites without leaving the search engine. Bangs are very useful when searching for an article on Wikipedia or finding a product on Amazon. For example, if we want to search for information about artificial intelligence in Wikipedia we could enter the search term “!w artificial intelligence” and you will directly access the corresponding Wikipedia page.

A Very Interesting Alternative to Google

At this point, we can not deny that we are facing a very complete and interesting alternative to Google. If you are tired of companies using your personal data, your search history, or your consumer profile to make money, you might want to give DuckDuckGo a try.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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