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This is an interesting comment because it may determine if DuckDuckGo (DDG) can remain true to its privacy goals given that the privacy feature was not part of
by nethsix 16y ago
This is an interesting comment because it may determine if DuckDuckGo (DDG) can remain true to its privacy goals given that the privacy feature was not part of its goal initially compared to say 'offering structured content'.
E.g., if privacy-conscious users started using DDG thus enabling DDG to reach critical mass attracting buyouts, huge advertising dollars for it's structured content, will DDG cave-in and ditch privacy?
- boyter 16y agoWhy couldnt you have highly targeted based advertising against the search terms and not the user? I can see why it wouldn't be as attractive as knowing everything about the user and marketing towards them but I don't see why it couldn't work, and it isn't betraying the users trust so long as the data isn't matched to any IP or pattern.
- nethsix 16y agoYou could! It could help DDG make lots of money. However, my thought was if that (privacy) was not the main goal and something comes along, e.g., $$$$/partners, that could catapult you to become a market leader/giant in your core goal area then given the principle of most startups to focus on a core competency and to do it really well, the secondary goal (privacy) could be compromised. EDIT: I don't have a list but I'm sure there have been cases where companies tweak their policies once they gain traction.
- epi0Bauqu 16y agoIt only came later because I wasn't educated on it. Now it's personal. I updated the end of the post to make this more clear. Thx.