DuckDuckGo Blocks Google's Popups

Have you noticed that websites are offering you a friendly new way to sign-in with Google? Try Investing.com. When you hit the site, Google displays a popup recommending that you sign in the top right. If you’re on a phone, the prompt takes up almost half your screen. And if you’re using Chrome, you can sign in with a single click, the fastest way to make the popup go away. Don’t have an account on Investing.com? Google will automatically make one for you.

It’s convenient if you want Google to harvest data about your behavior, or if you just want an easy way to sign in, or both. But for anyone who’d rather not, this new wave of popups may be an unwelcome intrusion that seems difficult to evade. There’s an easy fix. Download any DuckDuckGo app or extension, and you can kiss those popups good-bye.

DuckDuckGo, the internet’s favorite private search engine, rolled out a new feature across its service on 12-21-22 called Google Sign-in Pop-up Protection, It’s on by default, saving your eyes and your time from Google’s nagging. You can still sign in with Google whenever you want, you just don’t have to deal with Google’s prompts.

“They popups are invasive, annoying and they undermine user privacy,” said Peter Dolanjski, director of product for DuckDuckGo. “Google is employing a dark pattern by pushing you to sign in when you might not have otherwise. When you do, Google is is tracking what you do on those websites and linking it to your identity.”

Google Sign In is nothing new, but the popups are a subtle but pervasive change to the web. You can find them on Booking.com, Pinterest, Reddit, Trulio, Zillo and countless more. “We believe google is pitching the popups to these websites as a win-win,” Dolanjski said. “If they can get more users to sign in, it opens up more data collection both for Google and publishers, and it lets Google better target users with ads.” That means more money for everyone involved, except you.

Is what Google is doing the worst business practice in the world? Absolutely not. But there are situations where it undermines user choice. If you’re using a browser or an extension to protect your privacy (DuckDuckGo, for example), those protections go out the window. When you’re signed in, Google has everything it needs to spy on you.

Credit: gizmodo.com

DuckDuckGo, Your Go-To Search Engine

DuckDuckGo is the Google alternative you should be using.

Since Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, people have become more aware of what information they are giving companies and advertisers, sometimes without their knowledge or consent. The number of data breaches also rose to a record high of 1,862 in 2021. More people are taking steps to protect their information, and one way some folks are doing that is by using the search engine DuckDuckGo.

DuckDuckGo has positioned itself as a privacy-focused alternative to search engines like Google. DuckDuckGo has rolled out Android and iOS mobile apps and browser extensions to help keep your information secure no matter if you use it on your phone or computer.

Here are five reasons why you should be using DuckDuckGo.

Stop online trackers from spying on you:

Online trackers are everywhere on the internet. Princeton's Web Transparency & Accountability Project found that Google trackers are present in about 75% of websites and Facebook trackers are present in about 25% of sites. These trackers collect data like where you live, who you live with and what your reading habits are, to create targeted-ads to sell you stuff.

DuckDuckGo identifies and blocks these online trackers from sites like Google and Facebook. The search engine can also show you the networks that have tracked you over time to give you a fuller picture on how your data is being used.

However, DuckDuckGo came under fire in May after tracking scripts from the company's partner, Microsoft, were found in DuckDuckGo's search engine. Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo's CEO, said this was due to the company's partnership agreement and said DuckDuckGo is working to change this policy.

You'll see fewer ads:

When using DuckDuckGo you should see fewer ads overall. If you run a search via Google, the results will likely show you a handful of ads, or an entire page, before you see something that's not sponsored content. When you search for something on DuckDuckGo, you'll see fewer ads in your search results and save some time.

In addition to fewer ads on the results page, because DuckDuckGo blocks online trackers, ads won't follow you across the web. If you use DuckDuckGo to search for something like a new food bowl for your pet, you won't keep seeing ads for pet bowls on different sites. These ads don't follow you around like said pet demanding you feed them despite having just given them food five minutes ago.

Websites should load faster:

On top of causing ads to follow you around and collecting your data, online trackers also add extra data to websites you visit, slowing the website's load time. DuckDuckGo blocks these trackers, frees up bandwidth and lets websites load faster.

Your search history isn't stored:

Let's say you get into a debate with your significant other over which way the toilet paper should hang. You say it should hang under. They say the patent for toilet paper clearly has the toilet paper going over, making that the correct way. You look up the patent and find that yes, the toilet paper is hanging over. You sit in disbelief, and now your search history will forever shame you.

If you use DuckDuckGo, though, this blemish won't show up in your search history because the search engine doesn't save your searches. Each time you open DuckDuckGo is a fresh start, free from anything you may have searched for before. A downside to this is there are no suggested search options. Also, if you want to look at something you saw previously you won't be able to search for it in your history.

Google's Incognito mode also keeps your search history private, too, but it does so by deleting your search history once you close the window. If you don't close the window, it's still stored. Incognito mode also still collects some of your information, like your location and search activity.

Your search results won't be influenced by your browsing history:

Google filters the results it shows you when you use it to search for something. Google shows you things related to your search it thinks you will click on based on the data it has collected on you. It doesn't bother showing you results it doesn't think you'll click.

This means if you try to look up a news story, you'll likely see stories that lean towards what you've already read. These types of results could fuel what psychology calls confirmation bias, which is when people find information that supports what they already want to believe.

However, in 2017 Google announced updates to its search quality guidelines to push offensive results and bogus conspiracy theories further down its search results.

DuckDuckGo will show you more robust search results. A DuckDuckGo and Google side-by-side to search for something like Facebook renders different results, which could influence your thoughts on the company. Presenting you with unbiased search results could give you a more complete picture of what you are searching for.

Because your search results aren't tailored to you and your interests, search results can feel imprecise when compared to Google. Some DuckDuckGo users on Reddit have said they have used Google for some searches when DuckDuckGo gives them irrelevant search results. This sounds like a downside, but it ultimately means DuckDuckGo is working properly.

Credit: cnet.com

DuckDuckGo's Very Fast, Private Desktop Browser

Built from the ground up to respect your privacy across the entire internet.

DuckDuckGo started life as a search engine that respected your privacy, but now it's going far beyond that by developing a web browser to respect your privacy across the entire web.

Gabriel Weinberg, CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo, published a round-up blog post of what his company has achieved over the course of 2021. They include improvements to the DuckDuckGo mobile app, the introduction of Email Protection for free email forwarding and tracker removal, App Tracking Protection to stop trackers in other Android apps, and a new design with better results for the DuckDuckGo search engine.

The most interesting news comes at the end of the blog post, though. Weinberg reveals that a DuckDuckGo desktop web browser is being worked on, which he describes as "not a "privacy browser"; it's an everyday browsing app that respects your privacy because there's never a bad time to stop companies from spying on your search and browsing history."

Unlike other browsers, Weinberg decided against forking an existing project such as Chromium (like Microsoft did for the Edge browser). Instead, the desktop app will use the rendering engine provided by each operating system it runs on, so that should include Windows, macOS, and Linux. By doing so, Weinberg says the DuckDuckGo browser can "strip away a lot of the unnecessary cruft and clutter that’s accumulated over the years in major browsers."

It's the same approach taken for the DuckDuckGo mobile app, and it promises to offer a very slick experience, as well as allowing users to relax about their privacy being protected. There will also be a "Fire Button," which has become popular on mobile devices as a quick (and animated) way to clear all your tabs and browsing data with a single tap or click.

And as for performance, the desktop web browser may only be in early testing, but according to Weinberg it's already "significantly faster" than Chrome.

Credit: pcmag.com

3 Search Sites That Don't Track You Like Google And Others Do

From the Archives of CTC, Inc:

When you need to get information or find something online, chances are you go to Google. But while Google is great at Web searches, it’s hardly stellar when it comes to privacy. It saves your search history, scans your Gmail, tracks your location, keeps everything you say to “OK Google,” and a lot more.

Google does this partly to make its services more useful to you, by knowing what you want before you want it. But it also does it so it can serve you ads targeted just for you. Google also owns the digital ad network DoubleClick, which serves those interest-based ads.

Aside from blatant ad targeting, Google also filters results for you based on your search history. This "filter bubble" means that you and a family member can search for the same term, but come up with different results. To be fair, Google does let you wipe your search history, but it's always going to be trying to put two and two together.

If you're tired of Google and its lax view of privacy, here are three private search sites that don't track you. Check them all to find the one that's best for you.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is a solid Google replacement that doesn't track or target your IP address or search history. You don't have to worry about targeted search results or being trapped in a filter bubble, which actually means you get more results.

DuckDuckGo includes the nifty calculators and other tricks you've come to expect on Google, but that's not all. You can customize its interface, with search shortcuts and an Instant Answers feature that's just as good as, if not better than, Google's Knowledge Graph. You can also make DuckDuckGo an extension of your browser and activate more privacy settings to keep your search history as protected as possible.

Yippy

Yippy automatically detects and blocks adult content, including pornography, gambling sites, sex product sites and other websites that are not appropriate for kids. Plus, the site protects your privacy.

It will not collect personally identifiable information about you, like your name, telephone number, address and email address. It may collect anonymous information about your computer, though, such as your IP address. It also uses cookies, but not to track your personal behavior.

Startpage

Startpage calls itself the world's most private search site. It doesn't record your IP address, browser information or search history, so advertisers can't track you. Startpage also keeps you out of filter bubbles, so you can get the search results you're looking for.

It also gives you the privacy of searching via proxy, so the sites you visit don't even know your real IP address. This is similar to Tor, but without the hassle of setting it up. Startpage's proxy option gives you the most online privacy. It may slow down your searches, but when you select "proxy," Startpage makes you invisible online.

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Even if you minimize your use of Google, it's not the only company collecting your information and using it in scary ways. Facebook and hundreds of other sites track and share what you do.

Credit: foxnews.com/tech/, Kim Komando