Most people aren't going to change their default iOS search provider away from Google anytime soon, but that's not stopping Apple from giving them new choices. Mixed into a slide containing dozens of new features in iOS 8 that went unmentioned on stage was something interesting: "DuckDuckGo support in Safari." With its latest mobile operating system, Apple will easily let users switch over to the privacy-minded search engine and set it as the default for all queries within Safari. The preview page for OS X 10.10 Yosemite also confirms that DuckDuckGo will be available as a search choice for desktop users.
DuckDuckGo was designed to be a less creepy and less invasive alternative to Google. It ditches the tracking habits of Mountain View, much to the relief of internet users who've grown wary of overzealous surveillance from tech companies and the government alike.
Apple throwing its weight — or at least some of it — behind a startup search offering like DuckDuckGo is an interesting move. DuckDuckGo's inclusion in Safari's list of search providers should provide a decent boost to the company, letting curious users give it a quick try with just a tap. The addition can also be interpreted as yet another development in the uneasy, tense relationship between Apple and Google.
Last year, Apple did Microsoft's Bing an even larger favor by choosing it to replace Google for all Siri-related search activity in iOS 7. It's still possible to conduct voice searches by saying "Google" before whatever you're looking for, but it's an extra step that many users likely don't bother with. Google still remains the default search engine for web searches, however. Changing that would (understandably) be seen as an anti-consumer move. But iOS users can switch to Bing, Yahoo by visiting the settings menu, and starting in the fall, DuckDuckGo will be a third alternative.
Comments
PREDICTION; a couple of years time, it will turn out that Google was behind DuckDuckGo all along, and they do have all of your data.
By nyan_ben on 06.02.14 4:38pm
It’s actually Microsoft and they (might) have all the data.
By kretonime on 06.02.14 4:48pm
Or, most likely, they’ll just buy it and steal all your data anyway.
By AccountKiller1234 on 06.02.14 5:58pm
or Google buy DuckDuckGo for Xbillions
By Mejsric on 06.03.14 1:48am
Apple really made sure to not mention any Google products other than comparing Android install base. Not mentioning Nest support in Home Kit is pretty significant since Nest alone and Apple has/had such a good relationship up until the Google acquisition.
By randomaccount12312 on 06.02.14 4:38pm
What’s interesting is that Google bought Nest, probably not just for thermostats but to launch are home-wide home automation platform, so Google will design and develop the hardware, its OS & the software that runs on it, meanwhile apple has thrown open the doors to third parties with HomeKit
It’s like they’ve swapped roles
By UncleBobbings on 06.02.14 4:46pm
Not really. Carplay gave a strong hint they would go this way. Not to mention iBeacons. Or Made for iPod..
By SoCoFoMo on 06.02.14 6:10pm
Actually they mentioned Google search from Safari’s address bar, but both times were in context about how you can skip Google results for top searches like Wikipedia.
By mbarriault on 06.02.14 4:56pm
Not to mention you can search a few sites through spotlight.
It’s like they’re trying to get people to stop googling things for the Wikipedia page.
By kraytex on 06.02.14 10:06pm
I was just wishing that this was possible a couple of days ago. Pretty great timing!
By Sudadero on 06.02.14 4:40pm
They also did not left out Dropbox when showing 3rd party app integrations. Still hurt about the rejection I guess.
By Jeeverz on 06.02.14 4:40pm
More likely because Dropbox didn’t have anything ready. Remember they were showing off real demos, not mockups.
By mbarriault on 06.02.14 5:04pm
Theoretically, what would Apple gain if they tried to acquire DDG?
By Metrosity on 06.02.14 4:42pm
Not much in terms of technology, other than a "best for privacy search engine" brand, which isn’t too mainstream right now, but I guess it could be if Apple pushed it that way.
By kretonime on 06.02.14 4:49pm
They would also get a fairly good search engine. Right now search is pretty bad in their products, especially the App Store.
By kimfranken on 06.02.14 4:58pm
DuckDuckGo uses sources like Yahoo search and Bing. It’s not a standalone search engine that could be attached to the App Store.
By drfisheye on 06.02.14 7:25pm
It has it’s own crawler, so, it’s a search engine.
By 64NEDM on 07.04.14 11:39pm
I feel like the “best for privacy search engine” concept goes out the window as soon as a large corporation like Apple buys it.
By fierywater on 06.02.14 5:06pm
Well it depends on the company’s track record right?
By Kirielson on 06.02.14 5:20pm
It depends on whether or not they could encrypt it ‘good enough’ so that even they couldnt truly view it. Ala iMessage.
By SoCoFoMo on 06.02.14 6:12pm
Did you test they can’t see imessages or is that what they told you?
By DavyDave on 06.02.14 6:44pm
It’s what they told me. It’s what no one else has been able to prove otherwise. But feel free to prove otherwise. Here’s a link to help you in your studies.
http://daringfireball.net/2013/10/imessage_encryption
God speed? That’s the saying, right? I never watched Star Crap. :p
By SoCoFoMo on 06.02.14 8:19pm
Apple would be pretty much fired if they had lied to the government institutions.
By 64NEDM on 07.04.14 11:40pm
Finally!
By mulotang on 06.02.14 4:46pm
Good for DDG.
By kretonime on 06.02.14 4:48pm