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I could see a future where DDG gets acquired by Apple.

mtmail 8y ago
Separate discussion from last week, most argue against it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18816748 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18816748
- devereaux 8y ago
  I'd argue for it. Apple is missing a search engine, has deep-enough pockets and resources to build its own engine if DDG API contracts were stopped, and is favored by people who value their privacy.
  - bunderbunder 8y ago
    Apple is missing a search engine. That doesn't imply that Apple needs a search engine, nor does it imply that acquiring one would be the most profitable thing they could be doing with their available resources. Arguably, a key part of Apple's success is that they don't behave like Microsoft.
    - loueed 8y ago
      Would DDG improve apples AI work? Google seems to be ahead of Apple with smart assistants, maybe that only a result of bad privacy policies on Googles part.
    - lowpro 8y ago
      With Apple pushing privacy as a major feature of iOS compared to alternatives, if the company continues taking a consumer focused, privacy respecting approach acquiring DDG could help strengthen branding, and maybe bring together an integrated privacy solution competing with Google’s integrated ad solution.
    - partiallypro 8y ago
      DDG doesn't even -really- have a search engine, they are using Bing's API. So the acquisition wouldn't even make sense.
      - throwawaymath 8y ago
        Wait, really? I thought DuckDuckGo merely implemented APIs ("bangs") to fallback search engine providers in case a user preferred it. Surely DuckDuckGo has implemented their own search engine, crawler and indexer apart from other providers?
        Kiro 8y ago
        > Surely DuckDuckGo has implemented their own search engine, crawler and indexer apart from other providers? No. They have their own crawler but it's only used for Instant Answers and other widget stuff. https://duck.co/help/results/sources https://duck.co/help/results/sources > In fact, DuckDuckGo gets its results from over four hundred sources. These include hundreds of vertical sources delivering niche Instant Answers, DuckDuckBot (our crawler) and crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia, stored in our answer indexes). We also of course have more traditional links in the search results, which we also source from a variety of partners, including Oath (formerly Yahoo) and Bing. So in other words, all organic search results come from Bing and Oath.
        throwawaymath 8y ago
        But then what's the point? EDIT: This is an honest question, not snark. I'd appreciate an honest answer instead of a blind drive-by downvote. I don't learn anything about why a thin UI layer over a bunch of search engines I can access directly is useful for privacy if you just downvote my comment.
        symlinkk 8y ago
        Because you're not accessing the search engines directly, you're going through a sort of proxy that hides your identity.
  - mikkom 8y ago
    Duckduckgo is not a search engine. It's an UI layer for search APIs provided by other players like Bing and Yandex.
- mattlondon 8y ago
  +1 - acquisition by a FAANG would be a instant turn-off for someone like me. I value its independence.
  - kevin_b_er 8y ago
    Not to mention it would probably be a literal turn-off. Apple would redesign it to require their OS and HW in order to search with, to correspond with Apple lock-in philosophies. Your ability to use it would be turned off.
    - jethro_tell 8y ago
      Probably not, but they just aren't good at services, so I'm sure they would botch it in short order.
chooseaname 8y ago
I'd rather see an investment. Maybe by providing a really good deal on maps[0]. Seems like this is a win-win for both. Apple wants to focus more on services and DDG gets a bit[1] of validation by being able to provide Apple maps. [0] Obviously I have no idea if this is the case. [1] As if they needed any.
tootahe45 8y ago
I'm a privacy nut but their search engine is unusable, i feel like for every 3rd search i need to switch back to Google to get proper results, Bing is a lot better for programming/computer answers.
- aembleton 8y ago
  Can you give an example of a search that works in Google, but not in DDG? It must be a couple of months since I last searched with Google.

Separate discussion from last week, most argue against it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18816748 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18816748

devereaux 8y ago
I'd argue for it. Apple is missing a search engine, has deep-enough pockets and resources to build its own engine if DDG API contracts were stopped, and is favored by people who value their privacy.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  Apple is missing a search engine. That doesn't imply that Apple needs a search engine, nor does it imply that acquiring one would be the most profitable thing they could be doing with their available resources. Arguably, a key part of Apple's success is that they don't behave like Microsoft.
  - loueed 8y ago
    Would DDG improve apples AI work? Google seems to be ahead of Apple with smart assistants, maybe that only a result of bad privacy policies on Googles part.
  - lowpro 8y ago
    With Apple pushing privacy as a major feature of iOS compared to alternatives, if the company continues taking a consumer focused, privacy respecting approach acquiring DDG could help strengthen branding, and maybe bring together an integrated privacy solution competing with Google’s integrated ad solution.
  - partiallypro 8y ago
    DDG doesn't even -really- have a search engine, they are using Bing's API. So the acquisition wouldn't even make sense.
    - throwawaymath 8y ago
      Wait, really? I thought DuckDuckGo merely implemented APIs ("bangs") to fallback search engine providers in case a user preferred it. Surely DuckDuckGo has implemented their own search engine, crawler and indexer apart from other providers?
      - Kiro 8y ago
        > Surely DuckDuckGo has implemented their own search engine, crawler and indexer apart from other providers? No. They have their own crawler but it's only used for Instant Answers and other widget stuff. https://duck.co/help/results/sources https://duck.co/help/results/sources > In fact, DuckDuckGo gets its results from over four hundred sources. These include hundreds of vertical sources delivering niche Instant Answers, DuckDuckBot (our crawler) and crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia, stored in our answer indexes). We also of course have more traditional links in the search results, which we also source from a variety of partners, including Oath (formerly Yahoo) and Bing. So in other words, all organic search results come from Bing and Oath.
        throwawaymath 8y ago
        But then what's the point? EDIT: This is an honest question, not snark. I'd appreciate an honest answer instead of a blind drive-by downvote. I don't learn anything about why a thin UI layer over a bunch of search engines I can access directly is useful for privacy if you just downvote my comment.
        symlinkk 8y ago
        Because you're not accessing the search engines directly, you're going through a sort of proxy that hides your identity.
- mikkom 8y ago
  Duckduckgo is not a search engine. It's an UI layer for search APIs provided by other players like Bing and Yandex.
mattlondon 8y ago
+1 - acquisition by a FAANG would be a instant turn-off for someone like me. I value its independence.
- kevin_b_er 8y ago
  Not to mention it would probably be a literal turn-off. Apple would redesign it to require their OS and HW in order to search with, to correspond with Apple lock-in philosophies. Your ability to use it would be turned off.
  - jethro_tell 8y ago
    Probably not, but they just aren't good at services, so I'm sure they would botch it in short order.

chooseaname 8y ago

I'd rather see an investment. Maybe by providing a really good deal on maps[0]. Seems like this is a win-win for both. Apple wants to focus more on services and DDG gets a bit[1] of validation by being able to provide Apple maps. [0] Obviously I have no idea if this is the case. [1] As if they needed any.

tootahe45 8y ago

I'm a privacy nut but their search engine is unusable, i feel like for every 3rd search i need to switch back to Google to get proper results, Bing is a lot better for programming/computer answers.

aembleton 8y ago
Can you give an example of a search that works in Google, but not in DDG? It must be a couple of months since I last searched with Google.