Anyone trying to get away from Google, can start easily by using DuckDuckGo as his default search engine. Why another search engine? That’s pretty simple: No company needs to keep track of your details to find out more about you. DuckDuckGo is a good example of a profitable company that also advertises without wanting to know everything about you. Google finds out a lot about you by offering many services ‘for free’ (in Dutch).
Nowadays it’s pretty easy to add alternative search engines to your browsers. Below I show you the steps before: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari (on desktop) and Brave. Also remember to check these settings on your smartphone!
Desktop / Laptop
Google Chrome
Open the top-right menu and click Settings.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/googlechrome_settings.png)
Scroll down until you reach the Search engine and choose DuckDuckGo.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/googlechrome_defaultsearchengine-1024x243.png)
Firefox
Open the top-right menu and click Settings.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_settings-555x1024.png)
- Click on Search on the left side.
- Choose DuckDuckGo as your default search engine in the dropdown.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_defaultsearchengine-1024x581.png)
Brave
Open the top-right menu and click Settings.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_settings-627x1024.png)
Scroll down until you reach the Search engine and choose DuckDuckGo.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_defaultsearchengine-1024x235.png)
Safari
Open the menu under the Safari item at the top left and click Preferences.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/safari_settings.png)
Click on Search and then choose DuckDuclGo from the dropdown.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/safari_defaultsearchengine.png)
Android smartphone
Google Chrome
Browse to duckduckgo.com and you will immediately be asked to add DuckDuckGo to Google Chrome.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_browseduckduckgo-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_addduckduckgo-512x1024.png)
- Open the menu at the top right
- Click Settings.
- Choose Search Engine.
- Now select DuckDuckGo from the dropdown.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_settings-2-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_selectduckduckgo-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_defaultsearchengine-2-512x1024.png)
Firefox
- Open the top right menu and click on Settings.
- Choose Search Engine.
- Select DuckDuckGo from the dropdown.
- Set DuckDuckGo as default
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_settings-1-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_search-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_duckduckgo-1-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/firefox_setdefault-1-512x1024.png)
Brave
Surf to duckduckgo.com and you will immediately be asked to add DuckDuckGo to Brave.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_browseduckduckgo-1-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_instructions-509x1024.png)
- Open the menu at the top right
- Click Settings.
- Under Search Engine, choose the type of tab (default or private).
- Select DuckDuckGo to set up.
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_settings-3-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_defaultsearchengine-3-512x1024.png)
![](https://khuybrechts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/brave_setduckduckgo-512x1024.png)
Final thought
It’s not difficult to set up another search engine, but you have to do it quickly in 3 or 4 different places. And that’s exactly what makes it a bit of an effort. I think it’s totally worth the effort.