DuckDuckGo, also known as “DDG” is a search engine that claims to protect its user’s privacy as it apparently does not track the user’s information. DuckDuckGo or DDG protects the user’s privacy by avoiding filter bubbles and profiling personalized search results. The filter bubble is an internet lingo in which the website algorithm selectively presumes the type of content its user would like to see based on the location, search history, and the user’s interaction with the website. Since DDG avoids filter bubbles and user profiling, all the users of DuckDuckGo are shown the same search results for a particular search item. Here, let’s know Who owns DuckDuckGo?
The founder and CEO of DuckDuckGo is Gabriel Weinberg. This search engine is owned by Duck Duck Go, Inc., and its headquarters is at Paoli, Pennsylvania, U.S. The main motive behind the creation of DuckDuckGo was to offer an alternative to the people who do not want to see what the algorithm decides that they should see. Currently, DDG is one of Google’s most formidable competition. In this society where the phrase “Google it” has become a solution to every problem, the risk of privacy breaches has also increased. Thus, DuckDuckGo has gained popularity amongst those people who value their privacy.
One of the many reasons for DuckDuckGo gaining popularity is that it does not track your activity as Google does and the users get unfiltered and unbiased search results. The data that you enter in search engines that are Google mediated such as medical, financial, or personal issues are mined and then packed into a data profile. Advertisers can then use this data profile to show personalized banner ads to users across millions of sites and apps. The incognito mode that professes to secure a user’s privacy does not help either as it just deletes the local browsing history and does not stop the website from collecting data and tracking via the user’s IP address. Thus, DDG can help us to keep our searches private and out of data profiles.
The users can also get unbiased, unfiltered data for a search entry as DuckDuckGo avoids filter bubbles. Google uses filter bubbles to tailor the search results according to our data profile that these websites have created according to our search history. This may be a good thing for some as it gets us to where we want to be but for this, the website keeps track of all our past activities on the internet which may breach our privacy on the off chance that the website sells this information or if the website is hacked. These filter bubbles may also not let us see the results that the others are seeing. Thus, DuckDuckGo can be a great alternative.
Does Google own DuckDuckGo?
In this age where the search industry is mostly dominated by Google which assists almost 75% of the top million websites, it is difficult for any other search engine to gave an equal footing to Google. Since there is not much competition Google is pretty popular among the masses and is their go-to website whenever they have any queries. Therefore, people often end up thinking that different search engines such as Bing and Yahoo are an extension of the Google search engine, as is the case with DuckDuckGo.
People do not realize that these are different search platforms that offer different services. The main difference is in the privacy protection that these search engines offer. DuckDuckGo is one of the safest and secure search engines there is which does not collect data from the user as in the case of Google which uses it to show personalized ads to its users. Google and DuckDuckGo are two different companies with the former being founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and owned by Alphabet Inc. and the latter formed by Gabriel Weinberg and owned by Duck Duck Go, Inc.
Is DuckDuckGo a Chinese company?
Although DuckDuckGo cannot be accessed in many countries such as India due to it being allegedly linked to the Chinese government and stealing the user’s data, the search engine is of American origin. The founder of this search engine is Gabriel Weinberg who is of American origin. Their headquarters is in Paoli, Pennsylvania, U.S. Since DDG is a privacy-oriented search engine, it empowers its users to take control of their personal information that is collected by search engines such as Google. Due to this feature, it is widely utilized and is one of the most popular search engines worldwide.
Even though DuckDuckGo is a popular interface it is not as popular as Google, which is another America-based search engine that is linked with almost 75% of the most popular websites searched by the people. But this trend is changing as DDG is slowly gaining steam in the search market due to its clean interface and easy navigation system.
The Origins of DuckDuckGo
Many people often ponder as to what was the reason behind the creation of DuckDuckGo. Was it to earn money? Many search engines earn revenues by displaying ads that are personalized on the websites that a user interacts with. These personalized ads are curated by tracking the search history of a user whenever they click on a website that collects this information. Although Duck Duck Go, Inc. also earns revenue by displaying ads, these are not personalized and do not compromise the privacy of the user. Thus, we cannot say that the reason for its creation was to earn money.
Was it done to compete with Google? Since there weren’t many search engines during the 2000s, Google had mostly dominated this industry. Therefore, many say that DuckDuckGo was created to tackle this monopoly. But Fred Wilson, one of the first investors of DuckDuckGo says otherwise. “We didn’t invest in it because we thought it would beat Google. We invested in it because there is a need for a private search engine.” Although DDG has become a tough competitor to Google with its user-friendly and clean interface that is slowly gaining popularity, it wasn’t created to earn revenues or to compete with Google and other search engines but was created for those internet anarchists who value their privacy and want a platform whose algorithm does not decide what they should be seeing.
Conclusion
We can conclude by saying that DuckDuckGo was founded by Gabriel Weinberg and is owned by Duck Duck Go, Inc. since it was founded in 2008. It has gained a lot of popularity in these twelve years as it provides privacy and security of a user’s data. This is the main difference
between DuckDuckGo and other search engines; DuckDuckGo is a privacy-oriented search engine whereas some of the most popular search engines are revenue-oriented, which collect personal data to benefit from them.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why was DuckDuckGo banned in India?
The reason given by the Indian government to ban DuckDuckGo was that it posed a threat to India’s security and the country’s sovereignty and integrity could be jeopardized. However, the government has not been able to give clear reasoning as to why DuckDuckGo was banned. Since this came after the Indian government had banned 59 other Chinese apps that threatened the user’s privacy, the people alleged that DuckDuckGo too was doing the same but there is no conclusive proof to support this.
Link to the report as to why DuckDuckGo was blocked in India: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/duckduckgo-search-engine-site-mobile-app-blocked-in-india-airtel-reliance-jio-vpn-report-2255290
2. Is DuckDuckGo safe?
Since DuckDuckGo is a privacy-oriented search engine it focuses mainly on keeping the user’s data and the user as anonymous as possible. It does not collect user data and store it to show personalized ads while surfing the internet. Therefore, it is safer than many search engines that collect user data such as Google. This privacy, however, comes with a price as the auto-suggest function cannot be accessed in DuckDuckGo and is also not able to keep the user safe from viruses, malware, ransomware, and other internet dangers.
Link to a detailed report on the safety of DuckDuckGo: https://nordvpn.com/blog/is-duckduckgo-safe/
3. Which is better: DuckDuckGo or Google?
One cannot clearly say which search engine is better as both of them halve their pros and cons. It is true that DuckDuckGo provides more security and protects the user’s privacy but it also does not protect the user from viruses, malware, or other internet threats, unlike Google. But if you are a person who wants to protect their privacy at all costs DuckDuckGo is a better choice as Google collects the user’s data such as the IP address, the device information, location, and the user’s interaction with ads and videos to personalize the type of ads that the user will see while browsing the internet in the future.
Link to a detailed report on the advantages and disadvantages of both Google and DuckDuckGo: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-vs-duckduckgo/301997/
4. Which browsers are compatible with DuckDuckGo in Windows?
The different types of browsers that one can use with the DuckDuckGo search engine are Opera Browser, UR Browser, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.
Link to a detailed analysis of different browsers that work with DuckDuckGo: https://windowsreport.com/browser-du