'I Broke Up with Google Search. It was Surprisingly Easy.' (msn.com) 60
Inspired by researchers who'd bribed people to use Microsoft's Bing for two weeks (and found some wanted to keep using it), a Washington Post tech columnist also tried it — and reported it "felt like quitting coffee."
"The first few days, I was jittery. I kept double searching on Google and DuckDuckGo, the non-Google web search engine I was using, to check if Google gave me better results. Sometimes it did. Mostly it didn't."
"More than two weeks into a test of whether I love Google search or if it's just a habit, I've stopped double checking. I don't have Google FOMO..." I didn't do a fancy analysis into whether my search results were better with Google or DuckDuckGo, whose technology is partly powered by Bing. The researchers found our assessment of search quality is based on vibes. And the vibes with DuckDuckGo are perfectly fine. Many dozens of readers told me about their own satisfaction with non-Google searches...
For better or worse, DuckDuckGo is becoming a bit more Google-like. Like Google, it has ads that are sometimes misleading or irrelevant. DuckDuckGo and Bing also are mimicking Google's makeover from a place that mostly pointed you to the best links online to one that never wants you to leave Google... [DuckDuckGo] shows you answers to things like sports results and AI-assisted replies, though less often than Google does. (You can turn off AI "instant answers" in DuckDuckGo.) Answers at the top of search results pages can be handy — assuming they're not wrong or scams — but they have potential trade-offs. If you stop your search without clicking to read a website about sports news or gluten intolerance, those sites could die. And the web gets worse. DuckDuckGo says that people expect instant answers from search results, and it's trying to balance those demands with keeping the web healthy. Google says AI answers help people feel more satisfied with their search results and web surfing.
DuckDuckGo has one clear advantage over Google: It collects far less of your data. DuckDuckGo doesn't save what I search...
My biggest wariness from this search experiment is like the challenge of slowing climate change: Your choices matter, but maybe not that much. Our technology has been steered by a handful of giant technology companies, and it's difficult for individuals to alter that. The judge in the company's search monopoly case said Google broke the law by making it harder for you to use anything other than Google. Its search is so dominant that companies stopped trying hard to out-innovate and win you over. (AI could upend Google search. We'll see....) Despite those challenges, using Google a bit less and smaller alternatives more can make a difference. You don't have to 100 percent quit Google.
"Your experiment confirms what we've said all along," Google responded to the Washington Post. "It's easy to find and use the search engine of your choice."
Although the Post's reporter also adds that "I'm definitely not ditching other company internet services like Google Maps, Google Photos and Gmail." They write later that " You'll have to pry YouTube out of my cold, dead hands" and "When I moved years of emails from Gmail to Proton Mail, that switch didn't stick."
"The first few days, I was jittery. I kept double searching on Google and DuckDuckGo, the non-Google web search engine I was using, to check if Google gave me better results. Sometimes it did. Mostly it didn't."
"More than two weeks into a test of whether I love Google search or if it's just a habit, I've stopped double checking. I don't have Google FOMO..." I didn't do a fancy analysis into whether my search results were better with Google or DuckDuckGo, whose technology is partly powered by Bing. The researchers found our assessment of search quality is based on vibes. And the vibes with DuckDuckGo are perfectly fine. Many dozens of readers told me about their own satisfaction with non-Google searches...
For better or worse, DuckDuckGo is becoming a bit more Google-like. Like Google, it has ads that are sometimes misleading or irrelevant. DuckDuckGo and Bing also are mimicking Google's makeover from a place that mostly pointed you to the best links online to one that never wants you to leave Google... [DuckDuckGo] shows you answers to things like sports results and AI-assisted replies, though less often than Google does. (You can turn off AI "instant answers" in DuckDuckGo.) Answers at the top of search results pages can be handy — assuming they're not wrong or scams — but they have potential trade-offs. If you stop your search without clicking to read a website about sports news or gluten intolerance, those sites could die. And the web gets worse. DuckDuckGo says that people expect instant answers from search results, and it's trying to balance those demands with keeping the web healthy. Google says AI answers help people feel more satisfied with their search results and web surfing.
DuckDuckGo has one clear advantage over Google: It collects far less of your data. DuckDuckGo doesn't save what I search...
My biggest wariness from this search experiment is like the challenge of slowing climate change: Your choices matter, but maybe not that much. Our technology has been steered by a handful of giant technology companies, and it's difficult for individuals to alter that. The judge in the company's search monopoly case said Google broke the law by making it harder for you to use anything other than Google. Its search is so dominant that companies stopped trying hard to out-innovate and win you over. (AI could upend Google search. We'll see....) Despite those challenges, using Google a bit less and smaller alternatives more can make a difference. You don't have to 100 percent quit Google.
"Your experiment confirms what we've said all along," Google responded to the Washington Post. "It's easy to find and use the search engine of your choice."
Although the Post's reporter also adds that "I'm definitely not ditching other company internet services like Google Maps, Google Photos and Gmail." They write later that " You'll have to pry YouTube out of my cold, dead hands" and "When I moved years of emails from Gmail to Proton Mail, that switch didn't stick."
How long will this last? (Score:2)
It will last as long as it takes SEO from being designed to manipulate the BingBot and Microsoft's ranking system.
After that its time for the B Ark.
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By then we might all have local LLM-powered search engines, and we'll only be able to get ad-free/spam-free AI on the black market
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DDG basically passes things on to Bing, allegedly without the information which allows Bing to identify the end user. I use DDG 95% of the time (or more) but occasionally use Google when the DDG links are useless, this has worked pretty well for me for around 10 years now.
Re: How long will this last? (Score:2)
Iâ(TM)ve been using DDQ for years too, but mostly because in donâ(TM)t want to support Google and because in value my privacy.
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It's a bit harder to SEO game two different algorithms that make different assumptions and use different weights. Let alone three or more. AI engines like Perplexity are interesting, and seem less likely to be susceptible to SEO manipulation, but at the same time they're also AI slop. Example: I was trying to look up something about an american teacher (didn't recall the name at the time) who got arrested in Europe over something he said about a politician, and its answer was something like "Amanda Knox was
I changed to DuckDuckGo recently too (Score:4, Informative)
but it was because of Google's change in enforcing javascript on searches. DDG doesn't require javascript to be enabled.
By default I keep javascript disabled everywhere I go on the web.
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You're a masochist.
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You're a masochist.
Or his CPU has fewer than 16 cores to support all the javascript eye candy and profiling. :-)
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I only need 16 logical processors. 12 cores is enough to not be a masochist. And I'm not even using 4 of my logical processors right now, using the web and email.
Re:I changed to DuckDuckGo recently too (Score:5, Insightful)
You're a masochist.
What you call masochist I call security conscious.
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I run privacy badger, ublock origin, and decentraleyes. Most websites work, and I get some privacy. However, if I turn off javascript, almost no websites work. I used to run noscript, but it got too frustrating.
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I run privacy badger, ublock origin, and decentraleyes. Most websites work, and I get some privacy. However, if I turn off javascript, almost no websites work. I used to run noscript, but it got too frustrating.
Well I have a very similar setup to you; except I don't use privacy badger and I block all javascript by default with ublock origin. My experience is very different from yours though. I find that most sites that I visit are at least usable without javascript, and I have whitelisted a relatively small number of sites where the extra functionality gained is worth it (and I think the site is trustworthy enough!).
In fact, I consider it a red flag when a site doesn't render at least adequately with just html and
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but it was because of Google's change in enforcing javascript on searches. DDG doesn't require javascript to be enabled.
By default I keep javascript disabled everywhere I go on the web.
This. Plus Google rarely works at all with the VPN.
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Maybe not YOUR country's land, but definitely others'.
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I'd argue that the current US administration is completely upfront and open about exactly how trustworthy they are. China, on the other hand, is "obvious" about it, but not "open" about it at all.
Re: Breaking up with America (Score:2)
Ecosia.org , a German non profit search engine that uses profits for climate and environmental causes
DDG is just Bing (Score:1)
You may get less tracking, and there may be other features. But the search is done with Bing.
So it's not as if you getting away from the big corporations by using DDG.
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I suspect it uses a mix of Bing and Google. It must reduce the level tracking at any rate. That's all good in my books.
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No, I believe it just uses Bing.
Change the URL (Score:2)
I noticed this on a two-word news site I frequent, the last word which is “standard”. Sav
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Do you really type in the entire URL "duckduckgo.com" each time you want to do a search? Why not use a browser that has a search bar in it with the search engine (duckduckgo) set as a default?
Um... have you heard of FireFox????
In 20 seconds you can switch from Google to DDG as the default search engine.
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That's kinda like bragging that Ford makes amazing cars because they can use gas from *any* gas station. Is there a non-niche browser which CANNOT change the default search engine in less than 30 seconds?
Re: Change the URL (Score:2)
Why do you type Google or DuckDuckGo? I just configure a default search engine and type my search terms in the URL bar.
I use DDG and Google and even, sometimes, LLM (Score:2)
Much of the time, DDG searches are noticeably worse than Google. On the phone, I default to DDG. On the PC, to Google. If I can't find it with DDG, I can usually find it with Google. That's maybe one out of 20 searches. If I cannot find it with Google, which is maybe 1/40 searches, I will try with an LLM. The LLM often points me in a direction that allows a later Google search to find what I want. I never trust what an LLM says, though. It's wrong such a huge portion of the time, be it GPT or Gemini o
Re: I use DDG and Google and even, sometimes, LLM (Score:1)
Brave Search Shortcuts (Score:1)
In Brave (which has their own level of YUCK, admittedly), I love the location bar multiple search feature.
This allows me to use DDG by default, which is fine (or better!) 99% of the time. But there are rare edge cases where Google's deeper index and algorithm hurts, instead of helping; so I can just put a :g in front of the search to check Google. Also, some required reading, about exactly who and how e
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Dayum, I don't have any Mod points at the moment.
How good is Brave search?
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And in Firefox you can set a keyword search (a bookmark with a keyword set and %s in the url). For instance you could set Kagi as your default search engine, but set "g" as the keyword for "https://www.google.com/search?q=%s". So prepending "g " would search Google. And it has a better UI than some implementations: you can type the search, then decide to prepend "g " before hitting Enter.
Switching to Bing, then to OpenAI... (Score:2)
More feasible now (Score:1)
I switched to Bing long ago - but only on phones.
It usually works OK, or at least well enough - the once exception I found was any kind of coding question, where Google was just better at funding out of the way stuff that was relevant.
But these days, if Bing fails in that regard, you can just use AI and it will often find those kinds of resources to draw from.
Of course, what happens in the future as technology advances if people stop contributing to places like StackOverflow and the sources AI uses to provi
welcome to 10yrs ago (Score:4, Insightful)
Kagi Love (Score:2)
Paying for search sounded ridiculous to me at first too, but I've been with Kagi for about a year now and I will never (and could never) return to Google. It's a truly web-changing experience.
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Any other Kagi users in the house?
Paying for search sounded ridiculous to me at first too, but I've been with Kagi for about a year now and I will never (and could never) return to Google. It's a truly web-changing experience.
YES!!! Another vote for Kagi. WELL worth the money spent!
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Re: Kagi Love (Score:1)
+1 for Kagi. I switched a couple years ago after I realized that I was putting too much mental energy into figuring out which "search results" were actually ads. Both Google and Bing are equally bad.
Kagi costs peanuts, and there's no ads. After the free trial expired, handing them my credit card was easy.
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You know what? I would have zero problems paying for search. Currently not needed for my use cases, but if it ever becomes significant superiour to free alternatives for me, I would be fine with it. Currently, I pay about $80/month for Internet access (GbE symmetrical and static IP) and the same as well for mobile unlimited Interned (and phone). Adding $5 or $10 per month for search would really not make much of a difference.
I occasionally use Qwant (Score:3)
It's an European alternative search engine... and it seems to work quite well, with very little enshittification.
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That was until they started fingerprinting and forcing CAPTCHA loops if you try block that :-|
GOOGLE CALLED - NO RELATIONSHIP (Score:1)
> I broke up with Google Search
No. Google Search said you were never in a relationship. You didn't even sign the EULA. As far as he's concerned you were just a hanger-on who wouldn't let go. Also please choose from:
1. Buh-buy. You're done, gone, and nobody asked.
2. Nobody cares. Seriously you penned an entire "article" about no longer using a website? When you lookup "Loser" on Google Search what do you see... oh right you broke up with it. Well go for Bing, then, genius.
3. There are 10 billion
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Been a "Binger" for 16 years. (Score:1)
Ya, no (Score:2)
For the simple reason that I can't stand their home page and don't want to spend time fucking around with it to completely, and permanently, simplify it -- Edge has a similar problem, but I was able to clean it up for the rare cases I use it on Windows. Also, Bing results are often less likely to answer my questions.
Seems rather drastic (Score:2)
This guy got "jittery" trying to quit using Google?
First of all, I have zero motivation to quit using Google. It's way better than Bing, and it's no more privacy-invading than Bing.
Second, I'm not so tied to a single search engine. If I don't find what I want on Google, I'll try Bing (and usually get nothing more relevant) but it's not a religion for me, to choose one vs. the other.
Switch to SearXNG (Score:1)
Google search is AL search....with mixed results (Score:2)
That's the case with many things (Score:2)
I too quit using Google early last year when they forced me to remove my ad blocker to watch videos on youtube. And I haven't returned back to google.
I took that experience one step further and applied it to all branded things I was using. Shoes, jeans, t-shirts, innerwear, deo, soap etc. And hey, I haven't returned back to using any of them and I didn't notice much difference. Except for, I am now saving a ton of money. The small brand sneakers I now wear are better than Adidas.
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Use a browser where the browser team cares about keeping YouTube ad-blocking current. For example, Vivaldi does that. I think Brave does too (I use it on some other aggressive ad-pushers that Vivaldi would probably need extensive customization to deal with). It is also quite possible to just use a browser for YouTube and stay with your customary different one for everything else. There is really no need to use one browser for everything.
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Oh, oh. You kicked the branding guru right between his legs. You are not supposed to do that. Economy will collapse.
Yep, took me 5 minutes (Score:2)
And only that long because I had to reconfigure the default search on a number of computers.
Search has been a commondity for a while. If one search engine tries to screw you too much (and Google certainly does that), just move on.
wat (Score:2)
I didn't do a fancy analysis into whether my search results were better with Google or DuckDuckGo, whose technology is partly powered by Bing. The researchers found our assessment of search quality is based on vibes.
I don't need none of that fancy book learnin', I know it's true!
They might be right, they might be wrong, but without any evidence the article is worthless to people who want to think and not just feel. Feelings are important, but I feel like this is a crock of shit.
Google has gone downhill, but every time I try these other search engines (especially Bing, but including DDG) I get even more pissed off than I do at Google these days.
Oh no! (Score:2)
DDGo better now? (Score:2)