DuckDuckgo
 

Have the experts got any views on switching to this for or against.

I've used it for years, in preference to Google, in an attempt to keep at least a little bit of my life out of their clutches.

The results are not as all-encompassing as Google's, but if you can't find what you are looking for, adding the two characters !g to your search string, will cause DuckDuckGo to send an anonymous search to Google. However, the results are returned directly from Google, so if you click on a link on that page, Caveat Scrutator!

I'm another long term DuckDuckGo user. Same reasons as India Four Two . Same experience too. Worth learning how to use "bangs" with it, they do make things a bit more specific. My only gripe is that over the years Boolean search priority has been diluted. Used to be that using a Boolean NOT term would remove all results with that term. Now it only removes low ranking results.

Concur with the above, but for some reason, it often sends me to lists of websites that are US-based.

Set the desired country option at the top left in the first page of results then search again.

If you always want to search in the UK, as an example, then you can set your home page or a bookmark with a DuckDuckGo url that will automatically load those settings for you. You will then get a mostly UK based search. It's far from perfect. Like the dilution of the Boolean search function the region specific function also seems to be less effective than it used to be. Not sure why. Maybe something to do with the search engine optimisation algorithms that companies pay to get better rankings.

If you want an example URL for a UK-specific DuckDuckGo bookmark, with safe search off, then here's a basic one (in code tags to stop the PPRuNe redirect function):

I have done that, but for example, if you're looking for a particular town in the UK, say Plymouth, it will often, but not always, send me to the one in Massachusetts. I typed Ebay into the search window the other day, and everything was priced in $ - it had sent me to the US version. What I know about computing can be written on a pinhead; I went back and typed Ebay UK and lo and behold, the prices were in £, so it seems that it needs to be told exactly what is wanted.

Undaunted, I shall try the version you have offered - thanks. I do like the overall simplicity of ddg v Google.

By default the basic DuckDuckGo URL prioritises the USA, hence the reason you're seeing US sites dominate. If you click the three horizontal bars at the top right of the DuckDuckGo home page) you will open a menu on the right hand side, like this:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b1f97f8ec2.jpg

Click on the "All settings" option and you will get a page like this:


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a32eb299d2.jpg
Select your preferred region, and any other settings you prefer, from the drop down options, then either click "save" in the cloud save box to the top right, or you can click the "Show Bookmarklet and Settings" button and that will show the custom URL for your personalised settings.

If you set that url to be your DuckDuckGo bookmark then every time you open it it will load with your custom settings for region, language, advert preferences, etc.

All of the settings on that page can be stored in a bookmark this way. This avoids using the cloud and allows to load your settings anew every time your device loads the DuckDuckGo home page.

Both save options work the same way - use whichever you prefer.

Let us know how you get on.

That's very helpful., much appreciated. All installed. I think I must have had the economy version. :O
I'll post an update in a day or two.

If you need any more help to get it to work as you prefer, just say.

It bugged me for a time, not being able to find a way to always set the thing to search the UK first. Can't remember how I found the setting options, or how to save them, but since doing so it's made DuckDuckGo more user friendly. Not perfect, as there does seem to be ways for those that pay enough money, or otherwise buck the system, to get their results higher up the rankings, but better than the default settings.

The VPN option can be helpful but it can slow things down a bit.

I'm pleased to say that it now seems to be guiding me to the places I want to be. Much obliged for your help.

Glad this helped.