6 ms·

DuckDuckGo Charitable Donations (2020): $750k to Organizations Worldwide

74 points by ffpip 6y ago

ffpip 6y ago
Previous Donations - https://duckduckgo.com/donations https://duckduckgo.com/donations
summitsummit 6y ago
how do they even have that kind of money
- pcr0 6y ago
  While they might not track your search history, their business is still built on ads in search results served by Bing.
  - shandor 6y ago
    Call me old-fashioned, but I think that's a very good monetization model for the web that I can definitely get behind. It's almost exactly like ads in dead-tree newspapers, which is to say much less intrusive than the ones on TV, for example. Or like how Troy Hunt does it on his blog: he just sells his top banner for ad space, with strict rules for the size of the ad. Of course this only works if you already have a sizeable following, but for the end user I view it as a very unintrusive way of monetizing. Microtransansactions are often brought up, but I don't feel like they are a solved problem from end user perspective. Too much setup and hassle to read random articles from random sites.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  50million searches, or $.015/search in ad profit.
  - paraschopra 6y ago
    Source of profit numbers? Or is it an estimate?
    - windthrown 6y ago
      That's just the $750k from the article title divided by 50 million posed in the comment.
  - abdullahkhalids 6y ago
    What are Google's or Bing's numbers? That seems high to me.
    - ffpip 6y ago
      DDG is 70 million. https://duckduckgo.com/traffic https://duckduckgo.com/traffic Bing is smaller than DDG in some countries
- Cactus2018 6y ago
  Affiliate Commission. Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission
  - ffpip 6y ago
    Don't spread false information. Only when you use a !a bang, (a service they offer) is a affiliate link added.
    - Cactus2018 6y ago
      ? it says so right here > Affiliate revenue > DuckDuckGo is part of the affiliate programs of the eCommerce websites Amazon and eBay. -When you visit those sites through DuckDuckGo, including when using !bangs, and subsequently make a purchase, we receive a small commission. https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
      - ffpip 6y ago
        It happens only through bangs. Not 'Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission' The don't serve different search results with affiliate links added.
        Cactus2018 6y ago
        Oh, you talking about adding affiliate links, right, I agree that I don't see them serving search results with affiliate links. On this page the claim is phrased slightly different, and says receive a commission from searches that leads to purchases https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ > When you visit those sites through DuckDuckGo, including when using !bangs, and subsequently make a purchase, we receive a small commission.
- tagawa 6y ago
  Most of our revenue is from ads on DuckDuckGo Search. These ads are not behavioural, i.e. not based on search history or personal info (which we don't have). Instead, they're contextual with scope limited to individual searches. Here's more info about our business model: https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ Disclaimer: DuckDuckGo staff
srtjstjsj 6y ago
Looks like all political organizations, several of whom advocate against DDG's competitors. No funding to free / open source software providers, except Tor. Quite savvy.
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  Wait what? The EFF, the Markup, open rights group, and probably others on the list absolutely provide open source software and/or datasets.
- input_sh 6y ago
  I was paid to build an open source project for one of them, and it isn't Tor.
jcq3 6y ago
Is it a form of lobbying? I was expecting more universal charitability like peace in the world, but it looks like a disguised investment.
- ffpip 6y ago
  Why would DuckDuckGo donate to causes like peace in the world? Even though it is a good cause, it's not related to DDG. They have a privacy first approach and have donated money to similar organisations. They do this every year - duckduckgo.com/donations
seddin 6y ago
How are they making so much money?
- kirubakaran 6y ago
  Ads https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
- Cactus2018 6y ago
  Affiliate Commission Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission.
  - zerr 6y ago
    How is it set up? I can't see Amazon ref links in their result page (containing plain Amazon links).
    - Cactus2018 6y ago
      I assume the http referer header? The claim is directly from the bottom of page - https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
      - ffpip 6y ago
        Again, don't spread lies. If you use a '!a bang', a affiliate link is added. Not to any search results.
        dang 6y ago
        Please omit swipes like "Don't spread lies" and "Don't spread false information" from your HN comments. They break the site guidelines. It's enough to supply correct information. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

74 points by ffpip 6y ago

ffpip 6y ago

Previous Donations - https://duckduckgo.com/donations https://duckduckgo.com/donations

summitsummit 6y ago

how do they even have that kind of money

pcr0 6y ago
While they might not track your search history, their business is still built on ads in search results served by Bing.
- shandor 6y ago
  Call me old-fashioned, but I think that's a very good monetization model for the web that I can definitely get behind. It's almost exactly like ads in dead-tree newspapers, which is to say much less intrusive than the ones on TV, for example. Or like how Troy Hunt does it on his blog: he just sells his top banner for ad space, with strict rules for the size of the ad. Of course this only works if you already have a sizeable following, but for the end user I view it as a very unintrusive way of monetizing. Microtransansactions are often brought up, but I don't feel like they are a solved problem from end user perspective. Too much setup and hassle to read random articles from random sites.
srtjstjsj 6y ago
50million searches, or $.015/search in ad profit.
- paraschopra 6y ago
  Source of profit numbers? Or is it an estimate?
  - windthrown 6y ago
    That's just the $750k from the article title divided by 50 million posed in the comment.
- abdullahkhalids 6y ago
  What are Google's or Bing's numbers? That seems high to me.
  - ffpip 6y ago
    DDG is 70 million. https://duckduckgo.com/traffic https://duckduckgo.com/traffic Bing is smaller than DDG in some countries
Cactus2018 6y ago
Affiliate Commission. Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission
- ffpip 6y ago
  Don't spread false information. Only when you use a !a bang, (a service they offer) is a affiliate link added.
  - Cactus2018 6y ago
    ? it says so right here > Affiliate revenue > DuckDuckGo is part of the affiliate programs of the eCommerce websites Amazon and eBay. -When you visit those sites through DuckDuckGo, including when using !bangs, and subsequently make a purchase, we receive a small commission. https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
    - ffpip 6y ago
      It happens only through bangs. Not 'Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission' The don't serve different search results with affiliate links added.
      - Cactus2018 6y ago
        Oh, you talking about adding affiliate links, right, I agree that I don't see them serving search results with affiliate links. On this page the claim is phrased slightly different, and says receive a commission from searches that leads to purchases https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ > When you visit those sites through DuckDuckGo, including when using !bangs, and subsequently make a purchase, we receive a small commission.
tagawa 6y ago
Most of our revenue is from ads on DuckDuckGo Search. These ads are not behavioural, i.e. not based on search history or personal info (which we don't have). Instead, they're contextual with scope limited to individual searches. Here's more info about our business model: https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-revenue-model/ Disclaimer: DuckDuckGo staff

srtjstjsj 6y ago

Looks like all political organizations, several of whom advocate against DDG's competitors. No funding to free / open source software providers, except Tor. Quite savvy.

Pfhreak 6y ago
Wait what? The EFF, the Markup, open rights group, and probably others on the list absolutely provide open source software and/or datasets.
input_sh 6y ago
I was paid to build an open source project for one of them, and it isn't Tor.

jcq3 6y ago

Is it a form of lobbying? I was expecting more universal charitability like peace in the world, but it looks like a disguised investment.

ffpip 6y ago
Why would DuckDuckGo donate to causes like peace in the world? Even though it is a good cause, it's not related to DDG. They have a privacy first approach and have donated money to similar organisations. They do this every year - duckduckgo.com/donations

seddin 6y ago

How are they making so much money?

kirubakaran 6y ago
Ads https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
Cactus2018 6y ago
Affiliate Commission Anytime a user clicks an Amazon or eBay link and makes a purchase, DDG receives the referral commission.
- zerr 6y ago
  How is it set up? I can't see Amazon ref links in their result page (containing plain Amazon links).
  - Cactus2018 6y ago
    I assume the http referer header? The claim is directly from the bottom of page - https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/ https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ad...
    - ffpip 6y ago
      Again, don't spread lies. If you use a '!a bang', a affiliate link is added. Not to any search results.
      - dang 6y ago
        Please omit swipes like "Don't spread lies" and "Don't spread false information" from your HN comments. They break the site guidelines. It's enough to supply correct information. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html