Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

exoticSpice

Suspended
Jan 9, 2022
1,242
1,952
Also DDG is not that more private than google. They used so allow microsoft trackers on DDG, I don't trust them.
 

ruka.snow

macrumors 68000
Jun 6, 2017
1,886
5,182
Scotland
I use DuckDuckGo. I used to use Google and Yahoo but have dropped Google and when I have tried going back to Google it is just frustrating with poor search results and missing results. Google has been especially bad at getting programming documentation results which DuckDuckGo is flawless at returning. Even just now to try it I searched for a non obscure but also non trivial thing and DuckDuckGo had the StackOverflow issue on the top of the first page while Google had this result on page 3.
 

Feyl

Cancelled
Aug 24, 2013
964
1,951
I've been using DDG for like a year and I'm happy with it. I find everything I need on there. Plus I can customize it and you can't do that with Google.
 

R!TTER

macrumors member
Jun 7, 2022
58
44
I use DuckDuckGo. I used to use Google and Yahoo but have dropped Google and when I have tried going back to Google it is just frustrating with poor search results and missing results. Google has been especially bad at getting programming documentation results which DuckDuckGo is flawless at returning. Even just now to try it I searched for a non obscure but also non trivial thing and DuckDuckGo had the StackOverflow issue on the top of the first page while Google had this result on page 3.
Must be your browsing history then, I've used Google & Bing & always get Stack results near the top or at least on page one. Though admittedly I also use incognito mode all the time & generally don't login to my MS or Google account when doing regular searches, very rarely do I see irrelevant results as seems to be in your case.
 

ruka.snow

macrumors 68000
Jun 6, 2017
1,886
5,182
Scotland
Must be your browsing history then, I've used Google & Bing & always get Stack results near the top or at least on page one. Though admittedly I also use incognito mode all the time & generally don't login to my MS or Google account when doing regular searches, very rarely do I see irrelevant results as seems to be in your case.
I believe the longer you use Google the more it’ll push your results to the correct place as undoubtedly there is some kind of per user learning.

However, I have no reason to return to Google now has DuckDuckGo has been providing me the results I was searching for, for the best part of five years without fail.
 

Bodhitree

macrumors 68020
Apr 5, 2021
2,091
2,218
Netherlands
Another shout out for Ecosia.

The fact that you’re doing good for the planet really makes me feel good about searches, and to be honest I’m not that demanding on search quality. Most of the time I can find what I’m looking for and in about 600 searches in the past year I’ve only had to resort to Google a handful of times.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zecanard

R!TTER

macrumors member
Jun 7, 2022
58
44
Yeah not sure about that, I'm super suspicious about corporate claims wrt the good they're doing for the planet. This isn't just about Ecosia it's really all of them.
I believe the longer you use Google the more it’ll push your results to the correct place as undoubtedly there is some kind of per user learning.

However, I have no reason to return to Google now has DuckDuckGo has been providing me the results I was searching for, for the best part of five years without fail.
Oh for sure they are & it's also affected by how much (personal) data you allow them to gather. For me personally I've always used InPrivate or incognito modes as default for as long as I remember, maybe since 10-15 years since it was first introduced in Opera(?) IIRC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ndouglas

ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Jun 1, 2022
721
636
Duck Duck Go works for me 98% of the time. IFF I really need to use Google from time to time, I will, usually only on my laptop since it’s the only platform (MacOS) where Firefox allows clearing cookies and all similar data upon start/end of the app.

Interesting to me to notice that Startpage.com is almost never mentioned anymore, nor is it an option like DDG is, for default search engine settings. I wonder why? Many years ago it seemed like DDG and Startpage.com were the top 2 privacy-minded search engines.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zakarhino

zakarhino

Contributor
Sep 13, 2014
2,615
7,006
DuckDuckGo and occassionally I will also use Google if DDG isn't giving me what I want.

I'm actively looking for a decent replacement to DDG because they manipulate search results based on the founder's political opinions. Maybe I'll just use a SearX instance so I can get Google results without all the tracking. I've heard Startpage is good too but not sure about their privacy policies.

It's a shame Yandex doesn't have US version.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ndouglas

ruka.snow

macrumors 68000
Jun 6, 2017
1,886
5,182
Scotland
Duck Duck Go works for me 98% of the time. IFF I really need to use Google from time to time, I will, usually only on my laptop since it’s the only platform (MacOS) where Firefox allows clearing cookies and all similar data upon start/end of the app.

Interesting to me to notice that Startpage.com is almost never mentioned anymore, nor is it an option like DDG is, for default search engine settings. I wonder why? Many years ago it seemed like DDG and Startpage.com were the top 2 privacy-minded search engines.
Never heard of startpage.com, asking about the my teammates it seems it is very obscure.
 

halledise

macrumors 68020
Need to give a quick shout-out to Ecosia!

They plant a new tree for approximately every 45 searches you make. They're super ecologically conscious and operate in tons of countries focusing on local biodiversity instead of just mindlessly planting anything and calling it a day.

They also keep their financial reports extremely transparent so you can actually see how all the money they make is being spent.

It's definitely no Google in terms of search quality, but unless you're looking for something very specific, it really is good enough. It's a wonderful way to de-Google and bring some good into the world at the same time!
i've never seen the proof that ecosia does what you say it does.
claims of tree planting need to be backed up with verfiable trees.
duck duck go works extremely well here in the antipodes.
no trees. no eco crap.
we plant our own trees here w/o any assistance from a search engine.
that said - i do agree fully that the google is the evil empire - i avoid it like the plague ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot

Pilot Jones

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2020
891
1,675
i've never seen the proof that ecosia does what you say it does.
claims of tree planting need to be backed up with verfiable trees.
duck duck go works extremely well here in the antipodes.
no trees. no eco crap.
we plant our own trees here w/o any assistance from a search engine.
that said - i do agree fully that the google is the evil empire - i avoid it like the plague ;)

Given your combative phrasing of Ecosia as "eco crap", I'm going to assume you've never really tried to actually look into the proof that Ecosia has put out there, of which there is plenty, including their business model, specific lands where they operate, what trees & plants they decide to plant where, long-term satellite photography showing green development across acres of lands, etc. etc.

I am not going to spend time pulling all of them up because I have more things to in my life, but I assure you it is very easy to find if you actually care to do so.

Since I made the post you quoted, I have already switched to another search engine because Ecosia's just wasn't giving the best results every time. However, there is more than sufficient proof that they walk the talk. Don't take pride in ignorance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bodhitree

Bodhitree

macrumors 68020
Apr 5, 2021
2,091
2,218
Netherlands
Given your combative phrasing of Ecosia as "eco crap", I'm going to assume you've never really tried to actually look into the proof that Ecosia has put out there, of which there is plenty, including their business model, specific lands where they operate, what trees & plants they decide to plant where, long-term satellite photography showing green development across acres of lands, etc. etc.

Agreed, Ecosia does a lot of reporting on the good work they do, financial transparancy, regular update video’s, expose’s on methodology on how they plant trees which are actually protected by the human communities they are part of, agroforestry. A few youtube searches and you can easily find it.

Their search results are from Bing, which means they’re not as good as Google when looking for something very specific, but 95% of the time they are good enough and will give you stuff you can use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pilot Jones

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,638
Indonesia
Reluctantly, Google. In the end, it's about the results, and Google's results are still better than the others for me.
 

rhett7660

macrumors G5
Jan 9, 2008
14,383
4,506
Sunny, Southern California
Google... I haven't found anything remotely close when it comes to providing search results. Yes, Google has its issues, but in my opinion, there isn't anything out that compares. Sadly.
 

zaragriffin

macrumors newbie
Sep 7, 2022
1
0
Generally I used Chrome and Firefox. Well, Chrome much better then others because it's good to use for SEO people where they can install different extensions as they used tools.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.