What is DuckDuckGo?

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is clutter-free and provides pure searching experience. Founded by Gabriel Weinberg in February 2008, this search engine has slowly inched its way into the searching sphere. Even with the “out of the box” name it seems to have struck the right “clicks” so far.

It can be compared to the earlier search days when searching was just plain simple searching without all the paraphernalia of history, customization, etc.

These days, most of us get slightly different results on searching for the same keyword, especially on Google. If I search for “India”, I may be shown results mostly focused on “news on India”, and someone else may find “Travel to India” results as the prominent result. This is because of the customization of results based on who likes what, and the search history.

I love the way DuckDuckGo described the whole concept of filtered search results that most of us go through when searching on the major search engines.

What is so different about DuckDuckGo?

Other than the fact that it is clutter-free, their USP is that they are very sensitive towards privacy and they do not track you.

DuckDuckGo provides search results that are not customized or filtered on the basis of what you like, or your search history. Since DuckDuckGo does not track your IP address, your likes or search history, you get completely pure results on searching. The main advantage of this is that the results are generic and therefore you get an overall perspective. Nothing is hidden from you.

DuckDuckGo explains this concept in the “What is DNT” page.

DNT meaning Do Not Track. Many browsers offer us the option of selecting “Do not track” from their privacy setting section. But does that always mean that they are indeed not tracking our searches? Sometimes, your selection of DNT may not be recognized by many and you will continue to get tracked!

The refreshing thing about searching at DuckDuckGo is that it feels like going back to simple, uncomplicated search without the feeling of being followed!

Hopefully DuckDuckGo will continue to grow and will not get lost in the maze, and more importantly will continue to honour it’s commitment towards privacy.