What de-Googling means
Google runs search, email, maps, video, photos, the app store on most phones, and quite possibly your browser. Each service is good, and each is free because Google earns from advertising, which pays better the more it knows about you. While you’re signed in, your searches, YouTube history and activity in Google’s apps can be saved to your account.
De-Googling means moving some of that elsewhere. It isn’t all or nothing, and there’s no finish line. Changing your search engine alone takes a minute, and it moves the service that sees the most about what’s on your mind.
Start with the easy swaps
Some services are far harder to leave than others. Take them in roughly this order, and stop wherever the effort stops paying off:
| Swap | Effort | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Search | One setting | Nothing to move, and you can switch back any time |
| Browser | Ten minutes | Firefox copies your bookmarks and history from Chrome |
| Maps | Install an app | Keep Google Maps for the odd business lookup |
| Weeks, at your own pace | Your address is on every account you own | |
| Photos, files and calendar | A weekend, plus a server | Everything needs somewhere new to live |
How search engines differ
Every search engine does two jobs. It crawls the web to build an index, a giant catalogue of pages, and it shows you results from that index with adverts alongside. Very few companies can afford to index the whole web, so many smaller engines rent results from Bing or Google and put their own privacy rules on top. That’s why DuckDuckGo’s results look like Bing’s, and Startpage’s like Google’s. Engines with an index of their own, such as Brave Search and Mojeek, are in the list below.
What makes an engine private is what it keeps. Google ties your searches to your account and uses them for advertising. DuckDuckGo says it doesn’t save your search history, doesn’t store your IP address alongside your searches, and keeps no identifier that links one search to the next. Its adverts are chosen from the words you typed, not from a profile of you.
What it needs
Search needs nothing at all. For the bigger swaps:
- A copy of your data first. Google Takeout, at takeout.google.com, packs up your mail, photos, files and more for download. A large account takes a while, and Google emails you when it’s ready.
- Time for email. Moving the mailbox is quick. Changing your address on every account is the slow part, and it happens as each one emails you.
- A home for photos and files. Either a home server or a paid service you trust.
How DuckDuckGo fits in
- No account and no history. Searches aren’t stored against you, so there’s nothing to delete later.
- Bangs. Type
!gbefore a search to send that one search to Google,!wfor Wikipedia, and thousands more for other sites. - Adverts and AI you can switch off. In its settings, turn off Advertisements. Under AI Features you can also turn off the AI summaries, called Search Assist, and the Duck.ai chat.
- Already built in. Safari, Chrome and Firefox all list it as a choice, so there’s nothing to install.
The easy way to set it up
Change the default search engine on each device you use:
- Chrome on a computer: Settings, Search engine, then choose DuckDuckGo.
- Chrome on Android: Chrome’s Settings, Search engine.
- Firefox: Settings, Search, Default Search Engine.
- Safari on a Mac: Safari’s Settings, Search.
- iPhone and iPad: the Settings app, Apps, Safari, Search Engine.
- Optional: visit duckduckgo.com/settings on each device to turn off adverts and AI answers, then save.
When you’re ready for email, the next big swap:
- Make the new account, for example with Proton Mail from the list below.
- Copy your old mail across. Proton’s Easy Switch tool, in its settings, imports your Gmail messages, contacts and calendar, and can bring new Gmail mail across as it arrives.
- Update your address on each account as it next emails you, starting with your bank, phone provider and anything official.
- Keep Gmail open until nothing important arrives there any more.
Questions people ask
Are DuckDuckGo’s results good enough?
For everyday searches, most people find them fine. Where you’re likeliest to notice a difference is with local searches, such as a nearby shop’s opening hours. Put !g in front of those and carry on.
Do I have to delete my Google account?
No, and not at first. Keep it while you move things, with Gmail forwarding switched on. Android phones also need a Google account for the Play Store, so many people keep one for that alone.
Can I keep using YouTube?
Yes. De-Googling isn’t a vow. You can watch without signing in, or pause your watch history in your Google account. The privacy tools page lists the settings.
Is DuckDuckGo private if I use it in Chrome?
DuckDuckGo won’t keep your searches, but Chrome can save your browsing history to your Google account if you’re signed in with sync turned on. That’s why the browser is the next swap.
