Improve your privacy online with DuckDuckGo

What is online privacy?

Data breaches on the Internet pose real dangers. For example, medical conditions can be shared without consent, and banking information can be accessed by third parties. Your email can be hacked. They can steal your identity.

The risk is more serious than most people think because something can happen to your data later. The development of big data means that your browsing history can be analyzed to draw conclusions that you may not want to confirm. You probably didn’t expect to be able to guess from your shopping and search history that you just found out you are pregnant.

DuckDuckGo is a tool that enhances your privacy.

Even if your access is secure, Google or another Internet entity could be tracking your Web usage, as could your Internet service provider. What’s more, in many countries ISPs are required to do so, so that search histories can be made available to law enforcement authorities if necessary. So, when you think about how to protect your privacy online, you should think about how to avoid being tracked on the Web. The privacy you need when searching and browsing the web is built into the DuckDuckGo browser extensions and mobile apps.

DuckDuckGo Private Search

One way to prevent Google and other organizations from tracking your browsing history is to use a private browsing mode and for this, it is good that DuckDuckGo Private search is integrated so you can search the web without being tracked. This is Incognito mode if you are using Chrome or Private mode if you are using Firefox. If you are using a shared computer or someone else’s computer as a guest, private browsing will not store your login information on your computer (and your friends will not receive targeted ads).

DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar

Automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers you may encounter on the websites you visit, preventing the companies behind those trackers from collecting and selling your data, you can also download a browser extension that uses cookies to prevent tracking. This prevents websites from loading intrusive and targeted ads. Only use extensions from reputable organizations: Hackers have been known to create malicious software disguised as security-enhancing applications and extensions.

However, your search history may be stored on Google’s servers. Understanding your search history and using it to show you personalized ads is one of the ways Google makes money. Use a different search engine if you don’t like the idea and want to adjust your online privacy settings.

Finally, don’t forget to log out of unused accounts. Closing tabs and browsers are not enough. For example, Facebook tracks you even if you don’t have Facebook open in your browser. If you don’t want us to track where you’ve been and what you’ve done, you should opt-out. If you are logged into your bank or brokerage account, you should log out properly.

DuckDuckGo Smarter Encryption

The purpose of Smarter Encryption is to automatically update HTTP site requests to HTTPS. This makes browsing more secure and private as we have encrypted browsing. Of course, this happens logically if the site in question has an HTTPS version.

Password management

Create a unique password for each website you use. It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s not if you’re using a password manager. A password manager automatically generates and stores strong passwords.