Adding Gmail, Maps and the Chrome browser reinforced its power. More users and more money led to bigger indexes of web pages, more servers and faster responses, along with better algorithms created by growing numbers of super-smart computer scientists. Google’s prowess at search and its success at selling advertising created a virtuous circle. This was a bit of a jab at competitors, who were said to be “kind of exploiting the users to some extent”. Google was also attractive because its home page wasn’t stuffed with advertising, and because of the company’s old motto: “ Don’t be evil”. I was an early adopter and often recommended it. Best of all, you don't need to know much about data to make it work and stay safe.I will admit that Google is generally the best search engine. With this plugin, privacy is possible in the modern web. Privacy for everyoneĭuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials puts responsible data practices in the hands of the people. However, if you're into data privacy and tracking, ditching Google for alternatives like DuckDuckGo, Startpage or Searx is a start. It's optional, and also available without the app. The extension further lets you switch your default search engine to DuckDuckGo, which doesn't track user data.

Clicking on the 'Data Practices' element takes you to an explanation for the site's grade. Every site you visit gets its own letter grade, representing how much control they take over your data. Best data practicesĪnother great feature of DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials is the Site Privacy Grades. Sites without HTTPS will still connect through HTTP, though. This makes sharing sensitive digital data much safer, such as when you pay online with your credit card. When you activate the plugin, your browser will default to HTTPS connections over insecure HTTP connections.

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