Skip to main content

Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo added to Chrome as a default search option

Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo is now listed as a default search option on Google’s Chrome browser.

DuckDuckGo has been added as part of Chrome’s latest update (version 73), which rolled out on Tuesday, March 12, and should be showing for users in 60 countries around the world, including the United States.

Related Videos

When you first set up the Chrome browser on a PC, the default search engine is Google, which ensures that any searches made via the address bar are served by that provider. But dive into Chrome’s settings and you can change the default search engine in a few clicks (see below to learn how). Other options listed by Chrome include Bing and Yahoo.

DuckDuckGo claims to offer a more private browsing experience than other search engines, as it doesn’t store or share any personal information linked to its users and their searches. It means, for example, that you won’t see ads popping up online that relate to previous searches you made, as can happen with other engines.

The arrival of DuckDuckGo in Chrome’s list of default search engines came without any announcement from Google, though reports suggest it was added based on its growing popularity among web users. While it’s true that the vast majority of web users still head to Google for online searches, DuckDuckGo, which launched in 2008, has in the last couple of years enjoyed an uptick in use, in part because of the increased focus on web privacy and how companies handle user data. In December 2018, DuckDuckGo announced it served 9 billion searches in that year, more than double that of 2016. Google? It’s currently serving more than a trillion searches a year, globally.

Increasing interest from regulators around the world in how Google operates various aspects of its powerful tech business could also have influenced Google’s move to incorporate DuckDuckGo into Chrome.

How to switch

If you use the Chrome browser, you can set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine in a few simple steps. First, click on the three-dots icon in the top right and select Settings from the drop-down list (alternatively, click on Chrome top left, and then Preferences). Next, scroll down until you see the “search engine” subheading. Click on the box next to “search engine used in the address bar” and then select DuckDuckGo from the list. If you had google.com appearing in the middle of the page each time you opened a new tab or window, that will disappear, prompting you to conduct web searches in the address bar via DuckDuckGo.

Editors' Recommendations

These Chrome extensions will put cash-saving coupons right in your browser
Woman shopping online for best Early Prime Day Deals

You can save time and money this holiday season with just a few clicks, and you don't have to hunt for those coupon codes on your own anymore, either.

If you know you're going to do your holiday shopping online this year via your Chrome browser, why not let a coupon code browser extension help you out? If you need help choosing one for yourself, read on to see our picks for the best Chrome extensions for holiday shopping coupons.
Rakuten

Read more
This creepy Mac app can record every moment of your online life
The Rewind app on an iMac with a pink background, showing a grid of faces from a Zoom call

A new app for your Mac claims it can record every moment of your online life and store it for retrieval. We're talking about every moment, from your emails to your chats to your FaceTime and Zoom calls.

Rewind is a work in progress from Brett Bejcek and Dan Siroker, two American entrepreneurs who between them have worked with Spotify and Optimizely. They claim Rewind is like a search engine for your life.

Read more
Is Microsoft’s new PC cleaner just an Edge ad in disguise?
The new PC Manager app on a Windows 11 desktop

Microsoft really wants you to use the Edge browser, so much so that the company has tied it to PC optimization in a new settings app. Microsoft PC Manager does what you could always do by opening the settings menu, but the new app also prompts you to set Edge as your default browser.

Screenshots of the new app were posted on Twitter by @ALumia_Italia and appears to show what is a public beta of the app. The app performs basic maintenance functions. You can check startup apps, check for updates, run disk cleanup, and other minor optimizations.

Read more