As I was preparing to write this article, I performed a quick google
search: “search engine privacy help doc.” I did so in an attempt to
determine resources already available to the public and consolidate said
resources, as well as to draw out main points I wished to emphasize in
this article. The first result that appeared in my search was “Privacy &
Terms” from www.policies.google.com.
From DuckDuckGo, a search
engine that is committed to protecting the privacy of searches, the first
result was similar (a seeming advertisement for DuckDuckGo), but through
some scrolling yielded some fruitful discoveries.
How does
using a private search engine, like DuckDuckGo make a difference when it
comes to the individual’s privacy concerns? Why for DuckDuckGo, does
refreshing a search result yield different results than the first search?
Why does this not happen when I Google something?
This is a
matter of search privacy. Prominent search engines like Google track every
one of your searches. Moving away from search engines like Google is a
first, but critical step in avoiding tracking on the internet. This
tracking manifests in curated search algorithms based on prior data but
has other various nefarious consequences. Switching from Google to search
engines like DuckDuckGo provides an accessible way to avoid major
companies tracking your searches and using that information gained for
primarily purposes of advertising and monetizing your data.