Privacy-centric
search engine DuckDuckGo has undergone an overhaul of its design in an attempt to build smarter searches for users. The design
changes the look of the site completely, to move away from the previous cluttered look of the service. Functionality has also been addressed, adding a number of community requests to improve the quality of searches. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the team's stance on privacy.
Design and functionality changes put the search more in line with feature that users of larger search engines, such as Google, may be familiar with. Rather than a cluttered search result when trying to find a website, DuckDuckGo now offers an evenly spaced, more thought-out list of results. New search categories are also listed above the results for quick access to specific criteria.
These new category search results have been incorporated thanks to requests from the DuckDuckGo community. Added search results include image and video, local, meaning search, local and recipe searches, as well as instant answers. The added search features add levels of functionality that many users, wary of traditional search engines over privacy concerns, may have been missing out on. They bring a more familiar feeling to those used to conducting searches through companies, such as Yahoo, that have now dropped "Do Not Track" standards.
New search results for the various added search categories show up at the top of the window, below the duck icon. Places, images and videos offer a quick pop down to a horizontal bar showing a quick preview of the results. Clicking on a result while under the places tan brings up a map, showing the location of restaurant or business in addition to its Yelp score. Instant answers utilize the same horizontal bar, but pulls on factual data if it is asked a question.
Even with the look of the search engine changing, the company has committed to sticking to its policy on privacy. Data from user searches will not be collected or shared, such as tracking cookies or IP addresses.
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