5 ms·

We are Google's product, not Google's customer. Keep this in mind, and use Google sparingly.

fabulist 12y ago
For the privacy conscious, I don't really see a need to ever use Google (except perhaps for images). DuckDuckGo and Startpage are perfectly fine for your average search query; they aren't terrific for fresh news stories, in which case you can proceed directly to a news source or an aggregator. This is probably too much trouble for your average user, but for me it is worth it. Once you gain a knack for it, it really doesn't expend that much time, either.
- pbhjpbhj 12y ago
  >I don't really see a need to ever use Google // When you use DDG and Startpage you are using Google aren't you?
  - andreasvc 12y ago
    DDG uses Bing and some other search engines, but not Google (except when you explicitly redirect your query with !g).
msandford 12y ago
I just discovered that DuckDuckGo has some stuff in place to make it easy to add DuckDuckGo as your primary search engine in Chrome. Took me about three seconds. I am going to give it a try for a solid week at home and see if I can live with its results. I have no idea if they're as good, but I hope so.
- fabulist 12y ago
  DuckDuckGo's main problem is that they don't pick up new results as quickly as Google does. Otherwise, a query on DuckDuckGo looks very much like a query on Google (the top results are often identical.) If you can't find something on DuckDuckGo, try using Startpage. Startpage uses Google as a backend, so it often has fresher results than DuckDuckGo.
  - higherpurpose 12y ago
    I think the problem is even worse on Startpage, which does use Google search, but Google is probably intentionally limiting the API to very old data.
  - MichaelGG 12y ago
    DDG's main issue is that their results are just not good enough. I really, really wanted to like them and use them, but in all but the simplest queries, I ended up back at Google. I really want to ditch Google, but I don't see how. Except via Start Page.
    - fabulist 12y ago
      That was my experience with DDG several years ago, but not recently. Sometimes I check results in both search engines; they're always very similar.
- mey 12y ago
  A tip about migrating to duckduckgo, if you break down with the results and need to go back to google, just add !g to the query and it'll route you forward to google with a redirect. Just be aware, even if you are using DuckDuckGo via the Chrome Omni bar for searching, those results still end up in your Search History on Google (see https://history.google.com/history/ https://history.google.com/history/ ) As a result I'm on DDG + Firefox at this point
  - gohrt 12y ago
    You know you can turn of Web History if you don't like it.
    - mey 12y ago
      I've done that, but the fact that it was happening is non-obvious. Additionally, with it off, Google Now constantly pushes for it to be on.
  - msandford 12y ago
    Do they manage to collect all that if I never sign-in to Chrome and I never sign in to anything google-related unless it's in a privacy tab? I can't imagine how they would be able to do so given that I'm never signed in, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did somehow.
    - andreasvc 12y ago
      Sure they can track the searches done by your IP + other information from your browser.
      - a3n 12y ago
        I am almost never logged in to Amazon, but I've been noticing for awhile that they still recommend things to me, and they say up front "based on something or other to do with your Amazon activity." The only thing they don't do is call me by name when I'm not logged in. But they obviously know it's me.
icebraining 12y ago
How much do you pay for your search service?

For the privacy conscious, I don't really see a need to ever use Google (except perhaps for images). DuckDuckGo and Startpage are perfectly fine for your average search query; they aren't terrific for fresh news stories, in which case you can proceed directly to a news source or an aggregator. This is probably too much trouble for your average user, but for me it is worth it. Once you gain a knack for it, it really doesn't expend that much time, either.

pbhjpbhj 12y ago
>I don't really see a need to ever use Google // When you use DDG and Startpage you are using Google aren't you?
- andreasvc 12y ago
  DDG uses Bing and some other search engines, but not Google (except when you explicitly redirect your query with !g).

msandford 12y ago

I just discovered that DuckDuckGo has some stuff in place to make it easy to add DuckDuckGo as your primary search engine in Chrome. Took me about three seconds. I am going to give it a try for a solid week at home and see if I can live with its results. I have no idea if they're as good, but I hope so.

fabulist 12y ago
DuckDuckGo's main problem is that they don't pick up new results as quickly as Google does. Otherwise, a query on DuckDuckGo looks very much like a query on Google (the top results are often identical.) If you can't find something on DuckDuckGo, try using Startpage. Startpage uses Google as a backend, so it often has fresher results than DuckDuckGo.
- higherpurpose 12y ago
  I think the problem is even worse on Startpage, which does use Google search, but Google is probably intentionally limiting the API to very old data.
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  DDG's main issue is that their results are just not good enough. I really, really wanted to like them and use them, but in all but the simplest queries, I ended up back at Google. I really want to ditch Google, but I don't see how. Except via Start Page.
  - fabulist 12y ago
    That was my experience with DDG several years ago, but not recently. Sometimes I check results in both search engines; they're always very similar.
mey 12y ago
A tip about migrating to duckduckgo, if you break down with the results and need to go back to google, just add !g to the query and it'll route you forward to google with a redirect. Just be aware, even if you are using DuckDuckGo via the Chrome Omni bar for searching, those results still end up in your Search History on Google (see https://history.google.com/history/ https://history.google.com/history/ ) As a result I'm on DDG + Firefox at this point
- gohrt 12y ago
  You know you can turn of Web History if you don't like it.
  - mey 12y ago
    I've done that, but the fact that it was happening is non-obvious. Additionally, with it off, Google Now constantly pushes for it to be on.
- msandford 12y ago
  Do they manage to collect all that if I never sign-in to Chrome and I never sign in to anything google-related unless it's in a privacy tab? I can't imagine how they would be able to do so given that I'm never signed in, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did somehow.
  - andreasvc 12y ago
    Sure they can track the searches done by your IP + other information from your browser.
    - a3n 12y ago
      I am almost never logged in to Amazon, but I've been noticing for awhile that they still recommend things to me, and they say up front "based on something or other to do with your Amazon activity." The only thing they don't do is call me by name when I'm not logged in. But they obviously know it's me.

icebraining 12y ago

How much do you pay for your search service?