Duckduckgo not as trustworthy as many thought??!

[canci]

I thought we didn't need proof. Just a lot of !?!?!?!?

[sunrat]

I thought we didn't need proof. Just a lot of !?!?!?!?

Wrapper may have been a slight intentional exaggeration. DDG does use multiple sources but Bing/Yahoo seem to be the main ones. Whatever, its results are suboptimal IMO, especially for Linux searches. I used it for a while but often a search for a Linux issue would not be satisfactory whereas the desired result would appear in the first few hits on Startpage.
!?!?!?!?

[NorthEast]

The Wikipedia article on DDG states Bing to be one of many search "sources" it uses. It's the degree of reliance on any particular source that is not so clear. The article also asserts:

DuckDuckGo earns revenue by serving ads from the Yahoo-Bing search alliance network and through affiliate relationships with Amazon and eBay.

which may or may not be suggestive of DDG preferences. Dunno.

[Fossy]

I thought we didn't need proof. Just a lot of !?!?!?!?

Wrapper may have been a slight intentional exaggeration. DDG does use multiple sources but Bing/Yahoo seem to be the main ones. Whatever, its results are suboptimal IMO, especially for Linux searches. I used it for a while but often a search for a Linux issue would not be satisfactory whereas the desired result would appear in the first few hits on Startpage.
!?!?!?!?

Unfortunately searX does not appear to meet my personal search requirements .

DDG as well as Startpage do , but after what comes to be heard here I have decided to move from DDG to Startpage .

Better to err on the side of caution ?

[sunrat]

DDG as well as Startpage do , but after what comes to be heard here I have decided to move from DDG to Startpage .

Better to err on the side of caution ?

I wouldn't bank on Startpage being any more trustworthy than DDG, but both are better than Google at privacy. Probably.
https://www.vpncompare.co.uk/startpage- ... -concerns/
https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/duckduckgo-vs-google/

Whatever search you use, it is recommended to use uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger (or similar tracking blocker) for all browser activity.

[LE_746F6D617A7A69]

Another strange case for query: "Tor Network Status":

Google: no correct result on first 3 pages
StartPage: no correct result on first 3 pages
DDG: single correct answer on 2nd page: "TorStatus - Tor Network Status"
SearX_DE: 2 correct results on first page: "TorStatus - Tor Network Status"
SearX_US: 3 correct results on first 2 pages: "TorStatus - Tor Network Status"

Repeating the same query:
Google: 1 correct result on first page, and on the 2nd page 1 dead link to a site which has been removed (blutemagie.de)
StartPage: 1 correct result on first page
DDG: the single correct result moved from 2nd to 1st page
SearX_DE: 2 correct results on first page (no change)
SearX_US: no correct results!, but starting with page number 2, errors are displayed: Google is blocking SearX:
"Error! Engines cannot retrieve results. google ( Suspended: too many requests )"

The results will vary depending on where do You live, but it clearly shows what's going on:
Google is dynamically changing/blocking responses for given query, and they are intentionally blocking 3rd party search engines.

SearX has no chances to work correctly for some types of queries, because it is a meta-search engine and it depends on Google.

[argentwolf]

Who exactly was appointed to define a 'correct search result(s)' or how exactly is such measured? Algorithms are by their intentional nature only deceptive, predictive suggestions...which have nothing to do with privacy or trustworthiness.
Edit:
Who's consistent with what?

[canci]

Correct is probably something like relevant to the user, which is probably very subjective and obviously it can't be as fine tuned as a search engine that knows everything about you. But in my experience, it's the difference between being satisfied with the first link versus having to spend 10min to see what link is best. I don't think this luxury is really worth giving up software freedom.

[LE_746F6D617A7A69]

Correct is probably something like relevant to the user, which is probably very subjective and obviously it can't be as fine tuned as a search engine that knows everything about you. But in my experience, it's the difference between being satisfied with the first link versus having to spend 10min to see what link is best. I don't think this luxury is really worth giving up software freedom.

Obviously You're right, people are often asking stupid questions, like: "did NASA really landed on the Moon?" or "is the Earth really flat?" - in such cases it's hard to construct a set of results which are "relevant".

But, the very first rule for constructing the set of results is (should be) to include links which are containing exact or partial matches for the query.
In My previous example I've asked about the "Tor Network Status" - there is at least hundred of sites which are containing this particular string, but Google refused to include the matching webpages in the set of results.

This means, that Google is manipulating the information - so in the effect they are manipulating Your point of view.

However, the real problem is, that alternative search engines are hugely dependant on Google - so while they can protect Your privacy, they can't save You from being manipulated by Google.

I would say that manipulating people's point of view is far more dangerous than just stealing their data - IMO Google is far more dangerous than META, formerly Facebook.

[argentwolf]

I innerstood in order to find exact words or phrases in your query you needed to place quotation marks (" ") around the desired search terms?
Below is a list why our assumption are all wrong about interweb search engines. They tell us exactly what they do and it doesn't come close to what we think they do. D'oh!

-Bing: Helps you turn information into action, making it faster and easier to go from searching to doing."
-DuckDuckGo: "To show the world that protecting privacy is simple. For over a decade, we've created new technology and worked with policymakers to make online privacy simple and accessible for all."
-Google: "Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."
-Presearch: "A community-powered, decentralized search engine that provides better results while protecting your privacy and rewarding you when you search."
-Qwant: "The European search engine that respects your privacy"
-Searx: "A metasearch engine, aggregating the results of other search engines while not storing information about its users."
-Startpage: "Raising awareness of and protecting people’s worldwide right to privacy."
-Yandex: "To help consumers and businesses better navigate the online and offline world."

I for one don't really understand any of the above social gobbledygook, but shouldn't the above 'have been' the first place to start before making a decision to query the web?
Just sayin...
Edit:
META FKA Facebook FKA LifeLog

[sunrat]

I would say that manipulating people's point of view is far more dangerous than just stealing their data - IMO Google is far more dangerous than META, formerly Facebook.

I don't agree. Same crap, different toilet IMO. Didn't you hear about Farcebook's social experiment where they prioritised negative posts in peoples' feeds to see how it affected their mood by analysing their subsequent posts? Inception IRL.
But yeah, both dangerous.

[LE_746F6D617A7A69]

^ I Agree

In the effect, millions of disappointed people have left Meta-Facepalm and moved to TikTok, created by ByteDance company, which is closely cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party.

In practice it means, that instead of being manipulated by greedy capitalistic corporation, they are now manipulated by Chinese communists.

[argentwolf]

In the effect, millions of disappointed people have left Meta-Facepalm and moved to TikTok, created by ByteDance company, which is closely cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party.
In practice it means, that instead of being manipulated by greedy capitalistic corporation, they are now manipulated by Chinese communists.

Huh! Wasn't the forum collective spanked by @sunrat and told to start a new thread with all your 'conspiracy non-sense' which doesn't touch on the subject or am I simply really, really special. Hypocrite Jokers Kettle Black? WTH?
I say give Free Speech its head and let it run...

[sunrat]

Huh! Wasn't the forum collective spanked by @sunrat and told to start a new thread with all your 'conspiracy non-sense' which doesn't touch on the subject or am I simply really, really special. Hypocrite Jokers Kettle Black? WTH?
I say give Free Speech its head and let it run...

I make a friendly request with aim to keep conversation in the real world and you complain about it, and then we let you run with your "free speech" a bit and you complain about that. Methinks you just like to complain.

[canci]

[Fossy]

^ I Agree
In the effect, millions of disappointed people have left Meta-Facepalm and moved to TikTok, created by ByteDance company, which is closely cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party.
In practice it means, that instead of being manipulated by greedy capitalistic corporation, they are now manipulated by Chinese communists.

While some argue that U.S. policy is driving Moscow and Beijing apart , in reality it is their shared desire to disrupt the international order that creates a common interest ; making money by creating confusion , providing sufficient bread and games and above all divide and rule.

Not much new under the sun?
Nonetheless , let's not forget the fourth power , social media and commercial media tout court .
Whereby a disadvantage of free speech is that it equalises the voice of the learned and the idiot ?

It is high time to sharpen our critical minds or is it already long too late ?

micro gently laid down ...

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[argentwolf]

*

Clever by half, review your posts and witness; you of all tribesman should be arguing for all you disagree to sound off loudly!

“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”
― Henry Louis Gates Jr

Off the rails...bring it back to the subject moderator man!
drops mic

[canci]

This is the point where Argentwolf starts sounding like a Samuel Beckett character and we all just lose interest.

[LE_746F6D617A7A69]

@Fossy: thanks for Your post.

I'll try put this thread back on the rails:

Like I said, I've switched all my machines and my smartphone to SearX.
You don't have to install SearX, instead You can try to use one of existing instances:
https://searx.space/

I'm testing only the SearXNG instances, because the NG interface is much better.
I've noticed, that the US instances are quite often banned by Google, but others are not.
SearX is using Google search engine by default - and Google is frequently blocking SearX. This can be avoided by removing Google from a set of default search engines in the SearX settings - DDG and StartPage are working correctly with SearX.
With SearX You can get results from DDG, StartPage and many other engines without having to switch between them.

Unlike any other search engine, SearX is not mixing categories like "pictures" "music" etc. with normal results - You have to explicitly add particular category to get mixed results. This can be confusing and seem inconvenient at first glance, but after just 2 days of using SearX I've realized that this prevents many unwanted/irrelevant results to be shown.

[cynwulf]

DDG as well as Startpage do , but after what comes to be heard here I have decided to move from DDG to Startpage .

You might want to rethink that one... using your favourite search engine, search for: startpage System1 Privacy One Group.