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Apple Considered Making DuckDuckGo Default Search Engine in Safari Private Browsing Mode
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It's VERY close now, and has been for a couple years. Before that, I would sometimes have to fall back to google occasionally when I could tell that my DDG results weren't as good as I was expecting. But I can't even remember the last time I had to do it. I don't even think about which search engine I'm using anymore.
Guess you never chose Apple devices because of the security benefits
I don't think Google search is less secure.
Personally, I found in side-by-side testing within my biomedical science field that I achieved superior search results with DDG — surprising because I thought Google had a strength in academic search. I immediately switched all work and personal devices to DDG, and that was several years ago. Still, I occasionally try Google when stymied on DDG, and I have not found Google to yield (correct) results when DDG does not. As a result, I do not believe Google search is better than DDG, except in the revenue department.
Moved to DDG years ago and have not looked back at Google. Your web activity is Googles property that they sell. They target their adds to your searches. So the reality of the search results are tainted by the fact that vendors pay big bucks to Google to be first in certain topics., Thus a vendor with a much better or appropriate product in a given class might never show up in my search as they have not crossed the Google palm with Gold.
I was an ISP in the beginnings of the internet and saw this process evolve. Remember the Google creator sat on the Board of Directors at Apple and thus was an insider to the second largest computer maker in the day behind the Intel crowd.
I was an ISP in the beginnings of the internet and saw this process evolve. Remember the Google creator sat on the Board of Directors at Apple and thus was an insider to the second largest computer maker in the day behind the Intel crowd.
In 2020 when these talks took place, Bing generated around $8 billion in ad revenue (it was around $11.6 billion in 2022). I don't think Microsoft would've been willing to sell Bing in the millions.
Yes, there would be operating costs. I was simply stating that one reason for Apple to have purchased Bing, if they were serious, would be because they felt they could make even more money in the long run by owning Bing than they would from Google payments.
Apple could've also feared that those Google payments would disappear soon, because of a future DOJ ruling or something else, and may have wanted to potentially grab a search engine before that happened.
If I wanted or needed absolute privacy and anonymity I wouldn‘t fully trust any of them. Internet privacy is an oxymoron these days, for better or worse.
And Kagi substantively relies on Google:
" ... Our data includes anonymized API calls to traditional search indexes like Google, Mojeek and Yandex, specialized search engines like Marginalia, and sources of vertical information like Apple, Wikipedia, Open Meteo, and other APIs. Typically every search query on Kagi will call a number of different sources at the same time, all with the purpose of bringing the best possible search results to the user. ..."
Kagi is skimming the money off top but is substantively relying on the same underlying structures. It doesn't really get around the fact that folks want highly accurate answers without paying for them. Yes Kagi has their own index for a subset of the Internet , but if you need something from the whole internet ... they don't have it. Pretty sure Google has a paid (ad free) API so some money is trickling back to Google. ( If Google's ad revenue dramatically tanks, then the API-ad-less charges likely would go up ... and then is Kagi still viable. )
But it is just a different layer on top. Which didn't get around the point that Google produces better results in a lot of cases. Which puts a 'hole' in the government case in that selecting google is a 'paid for' thing and not a 'better than the other options' thing. Kagi isn't sitting on top of Bing either.... because they are after better results.
Kagi does a better job of anonymizing sooner , but they are collecting gobs of aggregation data. Search has a big element of aggregating data that pragmatically is necessary to generation a feedback cycle to get better and quicker results ( they make a big deal about not 'logging' searches , but more than decent chance they are aggregating them. )
And Kagi could do with a little less 'wagging their finger' at misinformation in ads. Their whole block whole domains and sources from results list is going to get applied by folks to block "cdc.gov" or ".gov" who want to live in their own silo information echo chamber also.
[ and Kagi is so anti-ad they push sources out of view that have "too many" ads. Same link as above.
" ... . For instance, we effectively mitigate SEO spam by downranking websites reliant on ads or trackers. Since these spam websites predominantly monetize through ads, they become easily detectable. ..."
Some sites might rely on ads. SEO spam that has 'hints' that don't match the page .. web would likely be a better place is suppressed those sites further down on the list. but if the data is a better match , should you move it down because has the page owner wants to get paid to doing the work to do the page? It can be a slippery slope.
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If it's that simple, "no valid alternative" then why is Google STILL paying Apple several $Billion per year to be the default?
They all track you one way or another. Just use the one that works best for you and move on.
That's about privacy. I believe those 2 are different.
IMHO, Google is pretty strong when it comes to security.
Really, I use DDG as much for convenience as anything else these days. I can quickly run an Amazon search, a YouTube search, an eBay search, or a Google search from my search bar using bang codes.
Kind of agree. But it's not just the length, it's the silliness. They really need to rebrand this good search engine with a better name. And right or wrong, it's hard to take it seriously for use in business environments because of the name and amateurish logo.
Been my default since I found it in earlier macOS versions.. I tend to only use Google now for shopping bargains if I have a big purchase and use private windows in Safari for that.
I agree that DuckDuckGo is a silly name however, other tech companies like Yahoo!, GoDaddy, Hootsuite, Mailchimp, etc. don't exactly have “professional” names either yet are (or were) fairly successful in their markets.
DDG is the only way to go.
Apple only stays with Google as default because they pay the most. Pay more, get more data to make more.
Apples privacy means nothing when being in bed with a company like Google.
Apple only stays with Google as default because they pay the most. Pay more, get more data to make more.
Apples privacy means nothing when being in bed with a company like Google.