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Some of you may recall that Apple actually considered replacing Google Search with Bing. Well, at least it seemed like it back in 2020. Well, it seems like Apple considered replacing Google Search with yet another option, DuckDuckGo.
Apple considered replacing Google Search with DuckDuckGo too
Much like the Bing info, this was also revealed during Google’s antitrust trial. Both The Washington Post and Bloomberg reported on this. Apple met with DuckDuckGo dozens of times.
To be more exact, it seems like the two companies had around 20 meetings and phone calls. They discussed the option to use DuckDuckGo instead of Google for Safari’s private browsing mode.
Apple’s senior vice president, John Giannandrea, is not aware of this, it seems. He apparently had no idea that Apple considered a switch to DuckDuckGo. He even called DuckDuckGo’s privacy claims into question.
Giannandrea said that DuckDuckGo’s reliance on Bing for search information risks sharing user information with Microsoft. He added: “I would probably insist on doing a lot more due diligence with DuckDuckGo”, if Apple actually considered switching.
Apple’s senior VP was not aware of the talks
That being said, it seems like some talks took place, but they never led anywhere. We also don’t know when exactly this happened, but if Giannandrea wasn’t aware of it, it couldn’t have gone far.
Google pays a hefty sum to Apple to remain the search default on Safari, and chances are it will stay that way. Apple clearly said that the company considers Google the best in the business for search, as do many users.
This antitrust trial has been ongoing for around three weeks at this point, and all sorts of interesting details surfaced. The trial is expected to last for about two months, though. So, it should be over mid-November. If you’d like to know more about it, check out our Google vs DoJ article.
UPDATE: DuckDuckGo reached out to highlight its privacy policy, just to make it clear how it handles data. The privacy policy states: “in the process of delivering our search results and other content, we also prevent our hosting and content providers from creating a history of your searches and browsing”.