Before I start this blog, I’d like to send a personal message to you all. I hope that you’re staying safe during these difficult times (we’ll soon be let out). It’s tough being stuck indoors, finding ways to keep mentally stimulated and trying to find energy. I just hope that this pandemic hasn’t got you too down. First rounds on me when we’re let out!!!
Let’s get into this week’s topic. Privacy has been one of the biggest topics over the last couple of years. Boy, I think I can speak for us all when I say that looking after our data is seeming to be a losing battle. Google has been the most popular search engine ever since I can even remember and they have created a good user experience as they know so much about us. For example, when you search for a restaurant, you can see how long it will take you to get there from your current location. You’re probably thinking, if I wanted my browsing session to be private I would just open an incognito tab. What if I was to tell you that incognito isn’t really incognito? *cue gasp* Well, it does provide some privacy however, websites may still be able to track your activity.
A new internet browser is slowly bursting onto the scene. DuckDuckGo was founded in 2008 and it’s been their mission to make privacy the forefront of a user’s browsing session. If privacy is a big thing for you (and it should be), then let’s go through a comparison between Google and DuckDuckGo. This way, you’ll be able to make a decision as to which one to use as a default browser.
Since the surge of ‘Big Data’*, the techniques and algorithms used to track and gather our data have become more advanced. Due to this increased monitoring, a lot of eyebrows have been raised as to what part of our lives are actually private.
There are a few pros and cons to both browsers (see table below). DuckDuckGo pride themselves on providing users complete privacy; they do not collect or store any data from a user’s online activity. They can also be used on mobile devices, whilst also not targeting users with adverts based on their recent searches. This is nice, but if you don’t remember my search history then it can get annoying if I can’t find the webpage that I was looking through, just a couple of days ago. DuckDuckGo also does not have the extra features that Google have that make it very convenient to use, such as: Maps, YouTube, Translate, Flights, Books etc.
Google are real pioneers and have really set the standard for a good user experience. They allow for personalisation for their users and one way they do this is by connecting your browser to your Google account, allowing an easier way of signing up to new websites. Google also tailor their adverts based on your recent searches, but this can be seen as a bad thing too.
In all honesty it really comes down to privacy vs convenience. You can’t have both I’m afraid. If we’re talking privacy, then DuckDuckGo is your winner. Although, we live in an era where we want things fast and easy, so it’s understandable if you decide to stick with Google. Just don’t come to me when they start reading your e-ma..nvm. Nonetheless, it is nice to see the emergence of companies who take our privacy quite seriously
*is a collection of large volumes of data, whereby common data tools are unable to store them
Love & Guidance
TT
The TT Protocol 