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DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

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Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#131

Post by natep »

truebosko wrote: post #6

Is the whole privacy on search thing really a big issue? I, for one, want Google to be all Orwellian on me because it will mean better search results. I had a scenario like this a few days ago when I googled for "fabric" -- Being a Python developer I was looking for http://fabfile.org and it shows up as the second result while logged in. If I'm not, it won't show up. This may be the outlier state of mind on HN, but I…

Not sure why this hasn't been said yet (maybe I missed it), but dukgo.com already has this figured out.

https://duckduckgo.com/fabric

It knows that fabric means something in textiles, geology, etc, and that it has multiple meanings in computing. To get Python, just click 'more meanings'

EDIT: I guess my point was already made, so in order to contribute something to the conversation, I'll add this: if there's anything wrong with your search result, you can just click the feedback button in the corner, explain what it is ('not showing official site for x', etc) and it gets fixed really fast.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#132

Post by spooneybarger »

sorbus wrote: post #29
klochner wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also a slightly different case - google passing on your search terms to the website that you click through to. You may trust google with knowing that you searched for "naked bieber pics", but you may not want other websites also knowing your search habits.

I am fairly sure that the issue is the browser passing on the referrer, not that Google is making websites aware of any additional information. I might be wrong, of course; there's a lot of FUD about this floating around.

If it is from an adwords campaign, you get the search terms.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#133

Post by maxawaytoolong »

alnayyir wrote: post #130
citricsquid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has an about me page somewhere, but he sold a business a while back for a relatively large amount and I assume he could live off that forever, so money certainly isn't a concern for him. Edit: found the info, $10m - http://investor.untd.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=328835

It's rather telling that he gets to work on DDG on his own terms from Pennsylvania. (I'm a coder that pines for mudding and visible stars, so the fact that my career choices are NYC/SF is disheartening at times.)

Actually there seem to be a good number of jobs in Pittsburgh, but I know nothing about the natural environs that way.

In California, if you work in Silicon Valley you can always live down in the Santa Cruz mountains. If you work in SF you can live in Marin. It is often faster to go from Marin to SOMA than it is to go from the Sunset or Richmond to SOMA. I can't say it's a quick commute from the SC mountains to anywhere, but the option is there. I know Apple has a shuttle bus from Santa Cruz to Cupertino, maybe other firms do, too.

NYC metro is not great for stargazing but I was surprised that there are nice places for hiking upstate, and in NJ and CT. Even Vermont and the Berkshires are accessible for weekend trips.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#136

Post by Sargis »

jorgem wrote: post #123
jdp23 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't think it's an outlier state of mind at all ... in fact at this stage the majority of people in the US aren't concerned about search privacy. but, y'know, DuckDuckGo doesn't have to get the majority of people. with their incredibly low costs, if they can get their search market share to even 1%, they can be hugely profitable. and there are at least that many people who care.

How does ddg make money, anyway?

The search results to amazon are affiliate links. I'mbassuming they have other methods to get revenue as well.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#137

Post by jimboyoungblood »

jorgem wrote: post #123
jdp23 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't think it's an outlier state of mind at all ... in fact at this stage the majority of people in the US aren't concerned about search privacy. but, y'know, DuckDuckGo doesn't have to get the majority of people. with their incredibly low costs, if they can get their search market share to even 1%, they can be hugely profitable. and there are at least that many people who care.

How does ddg make money, anyway?

Judging from their homepage, I'd guess they sell bowties for ducks.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#138

Post by [deleted] »

sorbus wrote: post #39
epi0Bauqu wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK this doesn't shut off the search leakage in the referrer header.

Anyone who really cares can - and will - use HTTPS. EDIT: It appears that at least one person disagrees with me. So, a quick question: Which takes more effort for the end user, switching to a new search engine or switching to https?

[deleted]

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#139

Post by GrandMasterBirt »

michaelbuckbee wrote: post #19
klochner wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also a slightly different case - google passing on your search terms to the website that you click through to. You may trust google with knowing that you searched for "naked bieber pics", but you may not want other websites also knowing your search habits.

Are they passing on search terms for previous searches or just the current search? In your (frankly terrifying) example, would the site have had to have ranked for "naked bieber pics", showing up in the results and then you click it to pull the search terms? Because that would seem to be pretty innocuous.

When you click a link, you usually send the refferrer url to the site you go to. Naturally google's search terms are a very easy to parse and a well known url. So when you click a site's link they know that you came from google and that you searched for xyz.

Duck duck go actually redirects you in a way so that the referrer is not known to the site. They all think you came from duckduckgo.com. DDG also keeps no logs. Basically your own activity online cannot be used against you.

Now, privacy aside, I really like DDG for other reasons, like search relevance, continuous scrolling, zero-click info, etc. So its kind of win-win for me.

Re: DuckDuckGo Challenges Google on Privacy (With a Billboard in San Francisco)

#140

Post by _delirium »

dschobel wrote: post #107
mahmud wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the whole privacy on search thing really a big issue? Yes it is, if you're a political activist. Both Yahoo and Google have a proven history spying on people on behalf of government.

"spying on people" is a really unfair way to describe what happens when you voluntarily share your information with a third party who is in turn subpoenaed. You should be taking issue with the governments demanding the records rather than expecting these companies to break the law on your behalf.

Do Google and Yahoo actually have a policy of only turning over information to governments when subpoenaed, or otherwise legally compelled, and promise not to voluntarily turn over such information in the absence of a court order? I can't find any solid statements on that from either company.
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