Even if you often use Google search, you should switch the default to DDG and make the Google search command explicit so that Google isn't always "listening" to

Even if you often use Google search, you should switch the default to DDG and make the Google search command explicit so that Google isn't always "listening" to everything you type into the URL text field. Otherwise, even when you think you are just entering the complete URL and not doing a search, you might be sending it character by character to Google as you enter it. A Google employee I know warned me years ago that they were always studying what you typed, including keystroke timing, accuracy, backspaces, everything including what URLs you were going to without needing a search, to see how much they could learn about you, even when you weren't (knowingly) doing a Google search. You could just turn off autosuggest, but then unintended items (ex: typos, things that don't match the browser's "complete URL" regex pattern) would still be sent to Google. Best to not make Big Brother your default listener in the first place.