With their story beginning in 1995, Google is the most popular search engine in the world and is known as the original search engine. DuckDuckGo, on the other hand, came into the game a little later but has been around since 2008.
One of the main differences between these 2 search engines is that Google stores the personal information of its users. It then uses this to serve ads and target individuals based on their preferences.
DuckDuckGo, in comparison, claims to never store or use this type of information. While Google’s tactics may be beneficial in some circumstances, not everyone is comfortable with their personal information being saved and used! This is where DuckDuckGo has been able to make a name for itself. DuckDuckGo doesn’t keep track of search history, track IP addresses or target users with pesky ads! So, online users concerned with their privacy can rest assured that their personal data is safe.
Another difference between the 2 is that DuckDuckGo uses its web crawler (DuckDuckBot), other search engines and crowdsourcing sites to gather its search results. Google, on the other hand, doesn’t require help from other search engines. It’s search index is massive in size – the biggest of all search engines allowing it to serve the best results without help.
A more minor difference is in the way users search through results after the first 10 page results. In Google, users can click the next arrow or select a number and a new page will open with the additional search results. In DuckDuckGo however, when users get to the bottom of the first page of results, they can click more results and additional options will load directly below without opening a new page.
It also owns additional tools that give it a huge advantage over smaller search engines like DuckDuckGo. Tools like Maps offer a wealth of info provided by businesses and individuals. DuckDuckGo also offers directions but these are pulled from other sources like Bing Maps (by default) or even Google Maps.
Beyond several minor differences and the major difference in privacy, these search engines also have many similarities.