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DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

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231–240 of 259 posts

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#231
If you care about your privacy, just don't use Chrome.

No matter how many extensions you add to keep trackers at bay, you're still using a product developed by a company that will keep pouring money into developing new ways to circumvent ads and tracking blockers.

The reason why Google can bully the web and get away with it is its market share. It's time to change that.

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I use DDG because in most cases the search results returned are more relevant. I’ll go to google if it’s something that could be explained by a YouTube video or Reddit thread or a Pinterest board, but Google really wants to push you toward the larger sites — even if the content is less relevant. If I recall DDG doesn’t even use cookies. So they’re showing ads based solely on the search terms, which personall…

My experience with DDG has been the opposite of yours. The results some of the times are just annoying. Mostly because I want it to be good enough to replace Google with it. I click on a second page from results and it turns out to be some dead unattended page. I gave up trying to be too optimistic about DDG and use Google with no javascript and no cookies saved on the domain in my browser. My problem with search is…

I had similar issues to you using ddg until about a year ago when I tried it again. the past year ddg has overall yielded a better experience than google for me, and I have been using it for 99% of my searches. I even forget I'm using ddg and not google, that's how seamless the results and quality are for me now. but when I had previously used ddg it was a nightmare, some time within the last 2 or 3 years ddg did something to serve up better result's

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#234

No thank you. I appreciate what DDG is trying to do but in the end, a search engine that makes money from selling ads trying to protect me from another search engine that also sells ads is just feeding the ecosystem. I am going to put my money into FF no matter how annoying some of the things in it are.

I guess the issue is how the ads are generated. adds generated on generic search terms are ok with me as long as they are well marked. ads generated on a deep and creepy level of privacy invasion, completely irrelevant to what I'm searching is not ok.

I'm content to live In a search world when I type "how to do xxxxx" an add for a software company that provides xxxxx as a service is the top two or three results. I'm not content with getting cold calls from salesmen 1 to 2 hours after I type in a search for gartner magic quadrant xxxxx. (this happens all the time)

if the ads served are keyword based on the current search, and clearly marked as add, I'm ok with it.

I even click on the ddg ads if the seem relevant on purpose, because I know it generates them revenue. I go out of my way to click on anything I know is a Google ad.

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#235
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there another search engine you recommend instead?

https://www.mojeek.com/

I’d never heard of Mojeek. While their mission is admirable, a few test searches using technical terms resulted in several suspicious sites. DDG search using the same terms provided results from commonly trusted sites. Obviously mojeek is new and will improve, but be careful out there.

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are correct, but if you don't own a Mac/iPhone, you cannot test on Safari.

You can - use another WebKit-based browser, such as Web[1]. [1] https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Epiphany

What about the behaviour of keyboard popup?

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a web developer I don’t test in Chrome—I develop against Firefox and sanity check using Safari iOS. Therefore my site is explicitly optimised for Firefox. Chrome users might experience issues. Or they won’t. I have no idea.

So it is very likely that you do not live of being a web developer or have a very small niche market, given the market share of FF and the market share of chrome. No normal buisness can ignore how the vast majority of its users experience their site. Every user with issues is likely a lost user. But ... from a technical point of view, it is indeed very likely that what runs on FF will also run on chrome, but not nece…

What exclusive chrome feature is the mentioned business relaying on ?

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#238
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I can appreciate not wanting to use DDG for a number of reasons, but because they are pushing for financial legitimacy on the basis that there can be an ad industry but it shouldn't be an arms race? Yes thank you, please make a market out of privacy! edit: I should probably say, please prove that privacy respecting markets are viable, I'm not suggesting the commoditisation of everything, lol.

I use DDG as my main search engine but I share the parent's concerns. In the end an ad-driven business model will always pit the interests of its users vs the interests of the advertisers. Should DDG become ultra-successful, how long until they start making concessions to privacy to increase revenue and growth? After all not so long ago Google themselves were "the good guys" and we were willing to give them the benef…

> Should DDG become ultra-successful, how long until they start making concessions to privacy to increase revenue and growth?

Should this happen then DDG will know better than anyone that this just puts a target on their back to be replaced by the next privacy respecting search engine, and the cycle continues afresh.

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#239
post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this is sarcasm and I also know we’ll see a Show HN with just this in a few weeks (AI blockchain driven!)

Well ... it is a good idea. When I reread some of my comments, I realize that I often drop words. A fair number of times the meaning is the opposite of what I intended to say. Those cases usually contradict the rest of my post so people should be able to figure out the intended meaning, but it would be nice if it didn't happen in the first place.

As the author, I resist the idea it was a good idea.

Re: DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome

#240

I try to sell friends and family on resisting Google's privacy invasions but lately it always goes the same way. "Yeah I know they know everything. How does that hurt me, like how does that cause me a problem in a real way that makes my life worse?" And I can't come up with a good answer for that.

Substitute Google with the Chinese Communist Party and most Chinese people right now have the same attitude as your friends. How would those friends feel about Chinese people being able to gain their information independence from CCP? If they would be in favour, then at least metaphorically they answered their own question.

It's not something they care about at all. As long as the prices in Walmart didn't go up, about 90% of the people I know wouldn't care or even notice if China sank under the ocean. Trying to get people who've already accepted the US government spying on them to care about Google spying on them feels impossible.
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