- Google versus DuckDuckGo. We all know that Google's business model is built around tracking our
searches and customizing ads. But for a privacy conscious
consumer like yourself, it's hard to know how
worrisome this really is and what power we have to fight it. And to prove this isn't just
some sort of conspiracy theory, you can open up a new tab
right now on your computer and follow along with me here. I'm gonna type in the same search term in Google and DuckDuckGo. But instead of clicking on the link here, I'm gonna right click and copy the link so that you can see what's
going on behind the scenes. This is just one example but check it out. The link that you click on Google contains a lot more than you realize. It's passing along parameters that log a ton of information
about your search, including where you searched from, whether you were logged in, what kind of search link you clicked, whether it was an image,
an ad or a search result, and likely other information hidden behind Google-generated hashes which are these indecipherable letter and number combinations. When you click a link on
DuckDuckGo on the other hand, the link is the direct URL. That's the privacy
difference in a nutshell. But throughout the rest of this video, you're gonna learn what
you have to give up in order to gain that kind of privacy. Welcome to "All Things Secured". My name's Josh and if
you're online privacy and security is a priority for you, you've come to the right place. In fact, while you're here, go ahead and click that subscribe button so you don't miss out on more videos that will help you protect
your online identity. Now, when it comes to Google services, things like YouTube, g-mail, Google Drive and, of course, the
flagship Google search page, the biggest hurdle, the one
problem that makes it so hard to move away from their services is this, they're simply the best. No other search engine
compares to Google. Period. Not Yahoo, not Bing, and
yes, not even DuckDuckGo. Google serves up the best,
most relevant search results. And in many cases,
they're able to understand the intent behind your question and sometimes even answer it
before you click on anything. That's incredible! And to top it off, Google is
constantly running experiments and updating the search algorithm to improve it on a daily basis. I tell you all this because when you're
weighing the difference between using Google and DuckDuckGo, the two variables we're messing with here are privacy and search quality. You either have excellent search quality with less than desirable privacy or you choose excellent anonymity with less than desirable search results. Now I'm not saying that DuckDuckGo is a terrible search engine. I think it's excellent, in fact. I'm simply pointing out
that Google search quality is influenced in no small part by the information it collects from you. DuckDuckGo's privacy
policy, on the other hand, guarantees that they won't
have this same advantage. For example, because
Google tracks your search and browsing history on the internet, they create a profile on you and serve up search results
that match that profile. The easiest way to explain this is, let's say that somebody is researching for their holiday in Nova Scotia. They've been looking at hotels and things worth seeing in the area. Well, when they finally go to
search for flights to Sydney, Google will make that educated guess that this person is looking
to fly to Sydney, Nova Scotia. DuckDuckGo, because they don't have access to that same search history, would have to assume that the person is searching for the more
popular Australian destination. That's an obvious example but most people don't realize that the search results you get on Google are not always the same
one somebody else gets, even if they have the same question. Usually that means better
quality search results. But I know that DuckDuckGo might argue that this often creates an echo chamber where Google serves up
the answer you want, not necessarily the answer that you need. And if you've seen "The
Social Dilemma" documentary, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Okay, let me give you a quick comparison of Google and DuckDuckGo and finally show you how
you can make the best use of DuckDuckGo if that's
something you wanna do. First, both Google and DuckDuckGo make money off of advertising. The difference is that Google's ads are based on your personal information and DuckDuckGo's are based
solely on the search term itself. Google's privacy policy clearly states that you are trusting your data with them. DuckDuckGo doesn't collect
any personal data at all. Google tracks your movement
across the internet. While DuckDuckGo actively
blocks this kind of tracking, from Google, Facebook and others. It's estimated that
Google has more than 90% of global search market share, while DuckDuckGo has less than 1%. Google offers personalized search results. While DuckDuckGo gives you
general search results. Overall, as I said at
the top of this video, Google gives you the better search quality while DuckDuckGo provides
the best privacy. Okay, last thing here, it's
possible to simply type DuckDuckGo.com into your browser
and use the search engine. But the best way to make use
of their privacy features is to download the browser
extension on your desktop browser and the mobile app on
your phone or tablet. In both cases, just go
to DuckDuckGo.com/app and click on the
appropriate download link. And no, this is not a sponsored video. Using the extension or mobile app will make DuckDuckGo your
default search engine. But more than that, it only loads encrypted
versions of websites and blocks all website trackers. If privacy is your priority, it's worth giving DuckDuckGo a try. And if this video is
useful and entertaining, give it a thumbs up. I'll do my best to
answer all the questions in the comments below.
