Privacy-first DuckDuckGo installs surge amid pushback over Google AI search
Technology
DuckDuckGo, the privacy-first search engine, just saw a major spike in app installs as people push back against Google's new AI-powered Search.
Users are frustrated by inaccurate results, websites getting buried, and not being able to turn off Google's AI features.
This shift shows more folks want simple search tools that put them in control.
DuckDuckGo US installs peak at 30.5%
From May 20-25, DuckDuckGo's US app installs jumped over 18% week over week and peaked at 30.5%.
iPhone downloads soared by 33%, with daily numbers up nearly 29%.
CEO Gabriel Weinberg called out Google for "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out," saying it hurts search quality.
DuckDuckGo lets users choose if they want AI features and keeps their data private.