Forget Google, Get DuckDuckGo

Why Google Needs To Go

Recently I’ve been attempting to purge Google from my online experience. If you are wondering why anyone would want to do this, here are three good reasons:

Google stalks you - Every search you make is saved on Google’s servers, along with your IP address. They install cookies on your computer to track which pages you visit, how long you stay there, and so on. Basically, Google doesn’t care about privacy that much.
Google engages in censorship - And not necessarily to block copyrighted content. If someone uses their services and does something Google doesn’t agree with they will have everything deleted and their accounts banned. Google also panders to governments everywhere by deleting content, handing over user information, and generally not following their “don’t be evil” motto.
Google serves biased search results - Because Google engages in stalking, it knows a lot about you. Therefore, it serves search results that are tailored just for you. In this way, it will be less likely that you will be exposed to content that opposes your views. In effect, Google Search is a confirmation bias machine.

Why DuckDuckGo?

To get around this problem I have been looking for a Google replacement. The best one I have found so far is DuckDuckGo. They do not stalk you, they will not censor you, and they will serve search results that are not biased. I also wanted something that imitated Google’s minimalist approach to search, and DuckDuckGo does a better job than Google in my opinion. There are other search engines out there however I’ve personally settled for this one.

If this sounds like something you want to try, go to DuckDuckGo.com. If you want to make the change permanent, you can set it as your default search engine.

Google Chrome/Chromium:

If you are using Google Chrome and don’t like other browsers, I suggest you switch to Chromium. Chrome will track you for Google even if you don’t use their online services.
Download: Windows (32.7 MB) | Mac (35.3 MB)
Go to DuckDuckGo.com.
Once the page is loaded, go to Preferences/Settings>Basics>Search>Manage Search Engines. Under Other Search Engines hover the cursor over DuckDuckGo and click Make Default.

Firefox:

Go to DuckDuckGo.com.
Once the page is loaded, go to the search bar and click the icon with an arrow, then select Add DuckDuckGo.
Click the icon again and select Manage Search Engines. Move DuckDuckGo to the top of the list and remove Google from the list, plus any other search engines you don’t want.

Safari:

To edit search engines on Safari (Mac) you need to install an app called Glims.
Download: Mac Only (8.6 MB)
Open the DMG file you downloaded and follow the instructions.
Once installed and Safari has been restarted, go to Safari>Preferences>Glims>Search Engine List and select DuckDuckGo. You can unselect Google and any other search engines you do not want to use.
Finally, if you do not want favicons to appear in the tabs (Safari default) go to General>Improve Tabs and switch it off.