Google does allow you to control the personalization of ads under Ad Settings, but the onus is on the user to make the adjustments themselves. This data is then applied to ad targeting, leading to highly specific ads popping up on seemingly every website you visit.įor example, when I searched Google for stuffed toys to buy for my young nephew’s birthday, every website I visited for the next few weeks kept showing me Pokemon plushies in their banner advertisements. So, not only does the service itself keep your browsing private, it also prevents third parties from tracking you as well.Īs you use its services, Google creates a profile on you based on personal data, such as your search habits and purchasing history. Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo doesn’t auto-suggest new searches because it never collects your search history to begin with-this felt like a small price to pay for more private browsing.Īnother refreshing privacy feature: DuckDuckGo actively blocks external trackers from following you around online. If you don’t like this, however, these settings can be changed by turning off personal results. Google’s (admittedly handy) Autocomplete prediction works by reflecting both real searches done by other users on Google as well as your own past searches.

The entire time I was using the search engine, I didn’t feel inconvenienced by the lack of personalization. Privacy is the biggest draw of DuckDuckGo, and it applies it in a way that doesn’t feel restricting. Using DuckDuckGo brought me back to a simpler time when a search engine was only there to answer questions like, “What is the best laptop under $1000?” or “What was Tim Robbins’ character’s nickname in Top Gun?” (It was Merlin.)

I barely remember a time when my every move wasn’t tracked, analyzed, and then marketed back to me through targeted suggestions and ads. Google has taken steps to address the issue by allowing you to disable search personalization under settings, but I suspect many users are still unaware of this option. For someone who has used Google most of his adult life, this feels oddly refreshing.

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