What is "too much" and "pseudo" about their activism? Yes, they indeed directly benefit from that. What is wrong with having a privacy-respecting monetization?
DuckDuckGo staff here. Just want to point out that we do not track users - opt in or opt out. We do serve ads that can be disabled (opt-out) but they’re contextual, based on individual search terms rather than any form of tracking.
Thank you for taking the time to set the record straight. I've been a DDG user for a number of years now, and I'm so glad that it exists. Its demonstrated integrity feels exponetially relevant, in contrast with state and corporate behavior these days.
Ah true, if you don't consider logging search queries, and storing device information on improving.duckduckgo.com, and sending all data to your partner Yahoo/Bing, and use affiliate tracking codes.
I think it could hurt their image in the long-term. I've already seen others complain here and there about the pushy narrative, they just need to be more subtle about it. Again, I'm using DDG and want them to expand so I want what's best for them!
Problem with people in the tech community is to think that sometimes anything that involves promoting yourself is being too push.
DDG needs to do interview, needs to be on the front of the issue and needs to be doing activism in order to make changes. Just having a browser and shutting their month to not sound "pushy" isn't going to help them grow and make the changes that WE need.