Gabriel Weinberg is the founder of DuckDuckGo, a search engine that relieves the pain points we find in the major search engine players… we’re talkin’ ‘bout you Google and Bing!
The extension further lets you switch your default search engine to DuckDuckGo, which doesn't track user data. It's optional, and also available without the app. However, if you're into data privacy and tracking, ditching Google for alternatives like DuckDuckGo, Startpage or Searx is a start. Spread DuckDuckGo. Help your friends and family join the Duck Side! $2,650,000 in privacy donations! Over 67 Billion anonymous searches. Learn why reducing tracking is important. About DuckDuckGo Learn More. Shortcuts to other sites to search off DuckDuckGo Learn More. DuckDuckGo has steadily carved out a place among the top search engines since its debut in 2008. The fervor and sense of the DDG mission clearly resonate with users across the internet. DDG’s mission is simple: Too many people believe that you simply can't expect privacy on the Internet.
Seriously cool features include:
- NO Tracking- DuckDuckGo does not collect or share your personal info. Excellent.
- NO Bubbling- DuckDuckGo does not customize search results based on your Web history. Rad.
- !Bang Syntax– This feature allows you to search hundreds of engines or query types at the same time. Perfect.
I caught up with Gabriel for the first edition of The Startup Sit Down, to get the scoop on the life and times of DuckDuckGo, the inspiration behind the startup’s hatching, and how pool parties keep up team morale.
What’s DuckDuckGo all about and what makes it stand out from the competition?
Gabriel Weinberg: DuckDuckGo is a general search engine. We focus on having way more instant answers, way less spam/clutter and real privacy.
Tell us a little about where you’re coming from.
GW: I grew up in Atlanta, GA and went to MIT. After college, I went right into Internet startups. After several failed projects, I ran a successful company that was sold in 2006. That was all in Boston. Then I moved to Philadelphia where I live now and where I started DuckDuckGo.
How was DuckDuckGo hatched, and what really sparked the inspiration?
GW: I was pursuing a number of projects around structured content, really out of personal interest. I had noticed that Google seemed to increasingly have a lot of SEO spam. I also noticed it didn’t seem to be using crowd-sourced sites like Wikipedia particularly well. So I really started out trying to launch anything that addressed those two issues.
Biggest startup surprise (good or bad) so far?
GW: I made the decision to stop storing IP addresses and by extension not track users when it was much less of a mainstream issue. I believe that when people know about the issue, like we’ve tried to educate on Don’t Track Us and Don’t Bubble Us, a large % of people agree with our point of view. However, I was surprised and am grateful that there has been an increasing amount of media attention on this subject.
One thing you would have done differently?
GW: I really don’t have any major regrets right now. You can make the argument that I should have taken DuckDuckGo more seriously earlier, and dropped everything else I was working on. It took a bit of time for it to be my 24/7 thing.
What is DuckDuckGo’s success sweet spot?
GW: I’m hoping it will be DuckDuckHack. This is our new (but a long time in the making) open source platform for developers to make instant answers plugins for the search engine. I’d love to see instant answers for the vast majority of queries.
Do you have any interesting team morale-building/stress-busting techniques?
GW: Still learning on this one :). I think that when people have ownership of their projects and wide flexibility to attack them as they see fit, they produce the best stuff. Also, we just had a pool party!
Favorite tech tool?
GW: Multiple monitors. I’m constantly messing with the configuration, but I think a lot of screen real estate is key to my productivity. It isn’t for everyone, but I like to have a lot of server windows open.
What’s your “man, I wish I would have thought of that” startup and why?
GW: I’m more struck by things that I stopped pursuing that ended up being successful in other startups. For example, I had worked on something that worked like Tumblr/posterous many years ago, but just didn’t stick with it.
Parting words of wisdom for startup newbies and wannabies?
GW: I have a lot of long-winded advice on my blog: http://ye.gg/blog. The short version is http://ye.gg/advice. The shorter version is don’t overthink it–get out there and do. The shortest version is no excuses.
Thanks Gabriel for being The Startup Sit Down’s guinea pig. We’ll be sure to check out DuckDuckGo and give it a proper search shot.
Good Luck!
Photo Credits
Escape active ad tracking networks, increase your encryption protection, and search as privately as possible with the help of this nifty Chrome extension
If you were to describe yourself as being somewhat of a privacy or security-oriented user, then there’s a good chance you might have heard about DuckDuckGo.
In short, DuckDuckGo (DDG) is an Internet search engine that aims to be just as efficient as some of the world’s similar but more popular services while ensuring that your privacy stays untouched by blocking off filters and personalized search results.
We have to admit, the concept is pretty compelling, and up until this point in time, the company behind the project does have what most would call a spotless record. If you also feel that DuckDuckGo is worth your attention, then we would like to suggest checking out their bespoke Chrome extension called DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
What’s it all about?
As its name makes it quite apparent, the extension is developed by the same team behind DuckDuckGo, and it aims to provide you with all the necessary tools to always be in full control of how your personal information is handled while browsing.
More to the point, DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials allows you to escape active ad tracking networks, increase your encryption protection, and search as privately as possible. The extension automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers (while showing you the culprits), forces sites to encrypt the connection (when available), and doesn’t allow search engines to get ahold of your personal info such as your financial, medical, political situation.
Better yet…
One of the best things about the extension is how simple it is, despite its complex underpinnings. As a user, you only interact with a polished little GUI that displays if the connection is encrypted or not, and how many trackers are found and blocked. You can also enable or disable the site privacy protection feature, manage a whitelist, as well as report broken sites.
The tool can be installed just like any other Chrome extension from the official Chrome Web Store without requiring any type of configuration on your part. Once launched, it integrates with Chrome’s toolbar via a small icon that also shows you a “privacy grade rating” when you visit websites. These ratings range from A to F, and the score is based on the prevalence of hidden tracker networks, encryption availability, and website privacy practices.
Conclusion
It’s quite refreshing to see a search engine that strives to distinguish itself from others of its kind by showing the utmost respect for user privacy. Not only that, but the company’s Chrome extension is something worth applauding since, if given the chance, we’re sure it will help increase the level of “trust” in the online world.
Filed under
DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials for ChromeDuckduckgo App
was reviewed by Vladimir CiobicaDuckduckgo Vs Google
- Remove innerHTML in favor of text nodes #630
- CSR cookies #631
- Merge autofill #632
Duckduckgo Search
DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials for Chrome 2021.5.10
add to watchlistsend us an update- runs on:
- Windows 10 32/64 bit
Windows 8 32/64 bit
Windows 7 32/64 bit - file size:
- 811 MB
- main category:
- Internet
- developer:
- visit homepage
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