Analyst Argues Apple Should Acquire DuckDuckGo Search Engine

[MacRumors]

Apple should purchase a search engine to put pressure on Google, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said Monday in a research report that was shared by Barron's.

Apple and Google don't share details on the amount of money that Google pays to be the default search engine for iOS and Siri, but Sacconaghi estimates that it's around $7 to $8 billion per year, or 30 percent of the estimated $25 billion that Google generates in ad revenue from search on Apple devices.

Google has long paid Apple to prevent Apple from turning to other search engine options like Microsoft's Bing, but Sacconaghi believes that Google has the upper hand in business dealings because it could opt to end its Apple deal if it can convince 70 percent of iOS users to go to Google.com for searching even if it's not the default Safari option.

Apple doesn't have many alternatives to Google, with its only leverage being a swap to Bing, so Sacconaghi suggests that Apple should acquire its own search engine.

"Yes, Google is clearly the dominant force in search today. However, we suspect the company's fear of 'rocking the boat'--which could compromise $15 billion in profits it captures today from iOS--may ultimately limit its freedom of action with Apple. Conversely, Apple may be in a stronger position than at first glance, given it controls the keys to the kingdom on who can monetize iOS search. However, it remains uncomfortably dependent on Bing to act as a counterweight to Google--hence our suggestion that Apple acquire its own search engine."

As for which search engine, Sacconaghi thinks that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine option, would be a good choice for Apple. Apple could, he speculates, buy it for under $1 billion, giving Apple a solid backup option that does not rely on Google or Microsoft.

"To be certain, we doubt an Apple-owned DuckDuckGo could ever generate profits sufficient to make back the $7 billion to $8 billion a year currently paid by Google. Nevertheless, Apple would still likely be better off than a worst-case scenario where it had no backup, and Google or Microsoft (one or the other) withdrew from the bidding process altogether."

DuckDuckGo would also be compatible with Apple's privacy values, offering iOS users a search option that is free from invasive ad tracking.

Sacconaghi warns that if Apple did attempt to purchase a search engine like DuckDuckGo, it could trigger regulatory oversight that could ultimately block the acquisition, putting Apple in a worse position than before. DuckDuckGo is also reliant on Bing, so Apple would need to make changes to be completely free of Microsoft's influence.

Apple previously used Bing for Siri and Spotlight on Mac and iOS, but in 2017 swapped over to Google for consistency across iOS and Mac devices. Apple has not been rumored to be seeking to make a search engine acquisition.

Article Link: Analyst Argues Apple Should Acquire DuckDuckGo Search Engine

 

[icanhazmac]

I've been using DDG exclusively for a few years now and have zero complains about their search returns. Don't really trust anything google anymore.

 

[826317]

I am not sure it would suit for an elite MNC such as Apple to acquire and be in charge of DuckDuckGo...

 

[nt5672]

I use DDG for most routine stuff, however, it you really need to find something obscure, DDG does not cut it.

 

[entropys]

I use DDG for most routine stuff, however, it you really need to find something obscure, DDG does not cut it.

sadly that is my experience as well. good enough most of the time though, and you aren’t letting the evil crew at google know what you are up to.

 

[Treq]

I switched to them years ago. Only use Google if I don't get the results I need from DDG, and it's usually no better when I do. I also use cloud flare for DNS and DDG extension for Safari on MacOS.

 

[truethug]

Is DDG using google, just scrubbing user identification?

 

[dpelletier360]

Is DDG using google, just scrubbing user identification?

No,

The article says something about it having components that really on bing? But doesn't say to what extent or specifics.

 

[ipponrg]

DDG standalone works for most simpleton searches. Anything else, you're going to be using bangs on it. Just like Siri, it's too simple of an acquisition. They'd have to heavily update it to get any value from it. If you make DDG the default in iOS, you will start seeing articles from people saying how poor Safari searches are.

 

[arn]

Is DDG using google, just scrubbing user identification?

Where do DuckDuckGo search results come from?

DuckDuckGo is an independent internet privacy company that offers a private alternative to Google search & Chrome in one free app.

help.duckduckgo.com

To do that, DuckDuckGo gets its results from over four hundred sources. These include hundreds of vertical sources delivering niche Instant Answers, DuckDuckBot (our crawler) and crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia, stored in our answer indexes). We also of course have more traditional links in the search results, which we also source from multiple partners, though most commonly from Bing (and none from Google).

 

[avtella]

I tried DuckDuckGo and Bing with a pretty open mind, they were unfortunately both pretty terrible if you do anything more than very simple searches. From searching on computer issues and coding all the way to things like research articles; simply typing or pasting parts of a reference article or title gives excellent results in Google but DuckDuckGo and Bing usually gave results that were no where near what I needed and at times results were let’s just say pretty out there. All that data collection is basically why Google usually gives better results.

In my experience searching for maybe a famous person or an animal I’d probably not notice a difference between the three but get into some hard searches ie research/science concepts/phrases or sections of articles and books etc, and Google is the only one that consistently gives proper results for me. With the Bing and DuckDuckGo I ended up wasting a lot more time scrolling through a few pages just get one or two proper results.

 

[now i see it]

I haven't used google search in over 5 years. In fact I've deleted their Safari shortcut on my iOS devices.
I used to have both DDG and Google shortcut icons next to each other - so I had a choice, but every time I'd start reaching for the G icon, is stop myself and wonder how G would track me— and choose Duck Duck Go every time.

I suggest everyone do the same. Keep the two search engine icons side by side so you truly have a choice.
Choice One: get tracked to hell by google
or
Choice Two: search anonymously.

It's up to you.

Google results are no longer any better than DDG

 

[rgeneral]

Please no. Leave the Duck alone!

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

DDG is my go to, but if I don't find what I want I'll search using the others. But Apple buying DDG? Why?

 

[2013.1]

I love DuckDuckGo

 

[Jimmy James]

As others said I use DDG first.

The amount of money exchanged, as referenced in the article, should be reason enough for anyone to avoid Google. There’s a direct correlation with privacy, such as it exists.

 

[nostaws]

I love duck duck go, it is my starting place for 100% of my searches, and my default on the phone, but about 25% of the time, I end up going to google for some of the deep dives.

And also google just knows stuff like flight data, sports scores, etc. Apple would have to do some serious work with DDG.

 

[trip1ex]

Apple should acquire Duck Duck Go to improve search on their hardware. Search on Mail kind of sucks for example.

 

[rjohnstone]

Where do DuckDuckGo search results come from?

DuckDuckGo is an independent internet privacy company that offers a private alternative to Google search & Chrome in one free app.

help.duckduckgo.com

Bing scrapes from Google, so DDG get's it indirectly.

 

[avtella]

I haven't used google search in over 5 years. In fact I've deleted their Safari shortcut on my iOS devices.
I used to have both DDG and Google shortcut icons next to each other - so I had a choice, but every time I'd start reaching for the G icon, is stop myself and wonder how G would track me— and choose Duck Duck Go every time.

I suggest everyone do the same. Keep the two search engine icons side by side so you truly have a choice.
Choice One: get tracked to hell by google
or
Choice Two: search anonymously.

It's up to you.

Google results are no longer any better than DDG

Unless your searching for simple things like famous people or animals or something there’s a huge difference and I tried DuckDuckGo for over a month it was at least for me pretty terrible when using it for finding research articles and scientific work or even matching phrases or sections of various books/articles. It at times gave some outlandish suggestions.

EDIT-thought my last post which was larger didn’t go through so I guess this is a rehash/repost.

 

[Capeto]

Business analysts love to see companies buy other companies just to hollow them out, not surprised by this article.

As others have said, I too use DDG primarily and it covers what I need about 85% of the time. An alternative to using Google is using Startpage, which gives back actual Google results with no need to visit the site (and without Google tracking you).

 

[thedarkhalf]

I tried DuckDuckGo and Bing with a pretty open mind, they were unfortunately both pretty terrible if you do anything more than very simple searches. Working on things like research articles; simply typing or pasting parts of a reference article or title gives excellent results in Google but DuckDuckGo and Bing usually gave results that were no where near what I needed and at times results were let’s just say pretty out there. All that data collection is basically why Google usually gives better results.

In my experience searching for maybe a famous person or an animal I’d probably not notice a difference between the three but get into some hard searches ie research/science concepts/phrases or sections of articles and books etc, and Google is the only one that consistently gives proper results for me. With the Bing and DuckDuckGo I ended up wasting a lot more time scrolling through a few pages just get one or two proper results.

This. I do tech work a lot so Google is a good friend. I'm always on other peoples machines and end up with Bing or Yahoo a lot of times (or god forbid Norton protected search.. blah). It's out of habit that I just type in something in to the top bar before I realize they aren't using Google.

The results on everything that I get are garbage compared to what Google gets me. You're probably right about simple searches, but if you need something specific, they pale in comparison.

 

[TheDailyApple]

I can see how anti-trust would be an issue. However it would be nice for Apple to work with the DDG team to better integrate it with iOS. They already use Apple Maps for location searches and Dark Sky (recently bought by Apple) for weather. They could also use Apple Music for lyric searches with links to the tracks on Apple Music, search the App Store, etc. And all Apple services could open in their respective apps when selected from an Apple device.

It’d be a symbiotic relationship. DDG would get to use Apple sources, and Apple would get DDG users directed to their services.

 

[rp2011]

I've been using DDG exclusively for a few years now and have zero complains about their search returns. Don't really trust anything google anymore.

If you don‘t trust the internet. Then i wouldnt trust DDG either. I think that’s far too much confidence in a company if your‘re already straddling the ledge.
Besides DDG is just a search aggregator and not a true search engine.
Having said all that, I would love Apple to get into search as a public service because relying on only one mega-company is never a good a thing. And only a company with Apple’s resources could possibly get in the game and get any kind of traction.

 

[ksec]

I would much rather they keep the ~$10B and do something productive with it other than spending it on Apple TV+ dramas.