Lots and lots has been written about online privacy these days and it is one of the biggest issues with regard to our online behaviour, be that shopping, entertainment, socializing, etc. Google has been the undisputed leader in search for at least a decade now and the amount of information they collect is staggering. What is surprising to many if they ever bother to look into it is what data they do collect and what gets passed on to the sites you search and subsequently click. Nothing you do on or from Google is ‘private’ and essentially everything you search and everywhere you go from these searches can be tracked back to you personally.

In response to the somewhat cavalier approach to privacy that Google employs there is a new generation of search sites emerging that start with privacy as their key proposition.

One of the best of this new group is DuckDuckGo.

Here is an excerpt from their Privacy Policy which pretty much outlines the difference between the ‘data collecting / sharing’ search sites and the ‘anonymous’ search sites:

Why You Should Care – Search Leakage

At other search engines, when you do a search and then click on a link, your search terms are sent to that site you clicked on (in the HTTP referrer header). We call this sharing of personal information “search leakage.”

For example, when you search for something private, you are sharing that private search not only with your search engine, but also with all the sites that you clicked on (for that search).

In addition, when you visit any site, your computer automatically sends information about it to that site (including your User agent and IP address). This information can often be used to identify you directly.

So when you do that private search, not only can those other sites know your search terms, but they can also know that you searched it. It is this combination of available information about you that raises privacy concerns.

DuckDuckGo prevents search leakage by default. Instead, when you click on a link on our site, we route (redirect) that request in such a way so that it does not send your search terms to other sites. The other sites will still know that you visited them, but they will not know what search you entered beforehand.

Why You Should Care – Search History

Other search engines save your search history. Usually your searches are saved along with the date and time of the search, some information about your computer (e.g. your IP address, User agent and often a unique identifier stored in a browser cookie), and if you are logged in, your account information (e.g. name and email address).

With only the timestamp and computer information, your searches can often be traced directly to you. With the additional account information, they are associated directly with you.

Also, note that with this information your searches can be tied together. This means someone can see everything you’ve been searching, not just one isolated search. You can usually find out a lot about a person from their search history.

At the end of the day, we at rubbermustard are fully on the privacy bandwagon on this one and love that there are effective choices out there that meet our search needs and protect our privacy. Give DuckDuckGo a quack and see for yourself.