Mastodawn

Darwin Woodka Jan 16

@ottaross I have the NO AI version set up as my preferred search engine

@darwinwoodka Same - it's a good idea.

Solitha Jan 16

@ottaross Your post reminded me I've been wanting to do that. Thanks!

@darwinwoodka

@darwinwoodka @ottaross

I can do that in DDG's own browser, but it's a PITA.

Tor offers it right in their dropdown menu with other search engines (yay).

What other browsers let you select NoAI DDG as your default search engine?

@callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross You can add a custom search engine and then select it as default in Firefox (and forks thereof). Pretty painless.

https://noai.duckduckgo.com/search?q=%s

Harald Hannelius

Jan 16

@skylark13 @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross yup, confirmed. Enter the following URL as a search engine;

https://noai.duckduckgo.com/%s

@harald @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross or

Nick Jan 16

@skylark13 @harald @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross any idea what the suggestion URL is? My search foo is failing me

Nick Jan 16

@skylark13 @harald @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross finally found it buried deep in reddit post!
"https://ac.duckduckgo.com/ac/?q==%s&type=list"
For anyone else who might want it

@NickAnEngineer @harald @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross thanks!

@harald @skylark13 @darwinwoodka @ottaross

Thanks - but hmmmmm - I'm transitioning away from Firefox but still have a lot bookmarked there, but when I try, I get "! That URL doesn't look right. Please check it and try again" and it won't let me click "Add Engine"?

@callisto @harald @darwinwoodka @ottaross

You need to go to Settings - Search. Then at the bottom you have "search shortcuts", there you can click "Add" to add a new one. Name it "NoAI DDG" or whatever and paste

https://noai.duckduckgo.com/%s

In the URL field. (Right-click copy that since Mastodon sometimes hides the https part) Then you can go to the top where it says "Default search engine" and select the new one you just created.

It's a bit different in the mobile version but similar enough.

@skylark13 @harald @darwinwoodka @ottaross Ah, thank you. It was just the absent https:// that was tripping me up.

soaproot Jan 17

@skylark13 @callisto @harald @darwinwoodka @ottaross Thanks! I thought this was what I tried before but apparently not quite. Worked for me in Fennec for Android (a Firefox fork).

Jean-Sébastien Guay Jan 17

@soaproot @callisto @harald @darwinwoodka @ottaross

Also if you want the search suggestions to work with noai.duckduckgo.com too, this user found what you need to put in the Search suggestion API field:

https://mastodon.social/@NickAnEngineer/115907242831363914

TerrorBite 🦁Jan 17

@skylark13 @callisto @harald @darwinwoodka @ottaross If you also want search autocomplete to work in Firefox, the URL to put in that box is: https://ac.duckduckgo.com/ac/?type=list&q=%s

Harald Hannelius

Jan 17

@TerrorBite @skylark13 @callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross is this without AI then?

Solitha Jan 16

@callisto Vivaldi and Firefox both let you set default search sites.

I kind of liked how FF used it, better than how Vivaldi does, but I'm getting used to it.

@darwinwoodka @ottaross

@solitha @darwinwoodka @ottaross NoAI DuckDuckGo is not one of Firefox's built-in options, but it can be added manually (instructions upthread - be sure to include https:// in the URL when you enter it)

ein kleines z Jan 17

@callisto @darwinwoodka @ottaross
But DuckDuckGo's "own browser" is actually Chrome, right? Just like all the other "our own browser"s, like Ecosia browser. Or ist it an actual alternative browser suitable for people who don't want to use Google Apps like Chrome?

M@ Bntn 🗽Jan 16

@darwinwoodka how did you do that?

Darwin Woodka Jan 16

@bntn

under "settings" "AI features" "disable duckai"

M@ Bntn 🗽Jan 16

@darwinwoodka never mind, I see some helpful instructions in the thread.

amy Jan 17

@darwinwoodka @ottaross i'm using tor as my main browser, and on tor, i use duckduckgo with no ai, and i would recommend it to everyone by default :)

Mike Bloxam 🇨🇦🍉Jan 17

@darwinwoodka @ottaross Thanks to the original post, now I do as well! 😁

Ray Gulick, he/him/wtf 🇺🇦 ❌👑Jan 16

This is great, but why isn't 'No AI' the default?

@rgulick Exactly - it should be an opt-in, not the negative-option thing.

David Jan 16

@ottaross oh cool! I should make this my default search provider in Firefox

@astrovore You might also consider the #Waterfox version of Firefox. They're staying true to the Firefox experience, but removing all the AI junk FF is adopting.

I was reticent at first, but I've been using it now for a couple of months without any complaints.

teaneedz Jan 16

@ottaross i added this to my browser's default search engine list

nepi Jan 16

@ottaross Kind of pointless branding when the top 15 search results are all LLM generated websites anyways. The quality on DDG has fallen off hard in the past two years and unfortunately it seems Google is way ahead in terms of surfacing real information

@nepi Certainly developers working search have a tough hill to climb to develop algorithms to reliably detect AI slop sites, and down-grade them.

But DDG being poor in their search results and Google being way ahead? Not seeing that at all.

nepi Jan 16

@ottaross Maybe it depends on what you’re searching, and this is all anecdotal of course. But I can’t count how many times over the past year I’ve typed something into DDG basically knowing what I’m looking for (checking my knowledge) and been met with a wall of obvious slop from generically named websites. Google will also surface things like Reddit or forums where, especially if you have a problem, people are actually discussing that problem and a solution to it. No such luck on DDG.

Large Format Projectionist Jan 16

You can also subscribe to #Kagi and dodge surveillance capitalism altogether.

Rachel Rawlings Jan 16

@ottaross I switched my default search engine in Firefox from regular DDG no noai as "Better DuckDuckGo"

dxzdb Jan 17

@linuxandyarn @ottaross I don't see a way to do this in Safari - but Vivaldi has a way to pick all sorts of search engines.

I gave up on Firefox when they couldn't say they wouldn't sell user info…

Spoontaneous Consumption Jan 16

@ottaross
Depending on what you need, you may also like:
https://lite.duckduckgo.com
or
https://html.duckduckgo.com

DuckDuckGo

@manu nice - those sound interesting to check out too.

Intaglio Whitegraven Jan 16

@ottaross I didn't know about this no-AI landing page, but I've used DDG for years. I'll have to change my links to point toward this instead, because I always opt out of the "search assist" and other tools.

Cort Jan 16

@ottaross On the other hand, they recently renamed their branded Android browser app from "DuckDuckGo Browser" to something like "Duck.ai Free Chatbot", so it's pretty clear where their heart is. Sad; I still prefer DDG to the alternatives, but I recognize this trajectory.

EDIT: ah, as of today it's called "DuckDuckGo, Duck.ai (optional)", so they must still be iterating.

@cort Yeah, as much as I like them for a web search engine, I'd never entertain installing their browser, phone app, nor plug-in. I wouldn't trust a search engine company that far. I'm fine with a website.

Leander Lindahl Jan 16

@ottaross I like the search engines @Qwant and @ecosia (they're based on Bing, but privacy focused and developing their own index in collaboration)

Sir Simoto 🏴‍☠️Jan 16

@ottaross Never heard of this, thanks 🙏

Let's check sources ❤️❤️❤️Jan 16

@ottaross #DuckDuckgo is owned by a privately owned US-company, thereby not subject to GDPR-privacy standards.

It's much better now to switch to the European qwant.com, without AI with this direct link: https://www.qwant.com/?&llm=0

#DigitalRights #democracy #USImperialism #qwant #deGoogle #TechForGood #EU
PS: here a list of EU-software alternatives, with my own experiences: https://mastodon.social/@TheStefan/114259071639384095

UpOrDownItsUpToYou Jan 16

@ottaross in the DDG app, you can modify the settings to prevent AI-assisted search results.

@ottaross Well shit

@ottaross
and there is https://voteyesornoai.com

AI should be a choice. Here’s where you stand.

Voting has closed. See the final results of the public vote on AI.

mossman Jan 16

@HugeGameArtGD @ottaross ha ha ha! Currently at 97% NO!!!

Uto4ka Jan 16

@ottaross wow i don't know about this feature, thanks

Lord Caramac the Clueless, KSC Jan 16

@ottaross I'd like to have a search engine exclusively _for_ AI generated images. I'd like to see who's using prompts I wrote.

Richard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️📷 🗺️Jan 16

Yes it was an open secret before but now that they realize people actually prefer it they are now promoting it. I expect if it is not already it will become the default version.

@the5thColumnist would make sense. It's a key differentiator.

Richard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️📷 🗺️Jan 16

Well strangely, or not, no obvious deference to the non AI version (if you go to preferences you can turn the AI stuff off) or the poll on the main DDG page .

A Sentient Glue Bottle Jan 16

@ottaross I set my DDG preferences to be no AI so I'm pretty sure that's what I get in the OG version.

TechnicallyOld Jan 16

@ottaross NO Duck AI browser. Thank you.

https://help.kagi.com/kagi/features/slopstop.html

Hakan Bayındır Jan 16

@ottaross
I personally prefer Kagi, and it also has many anti-ai features like AI image detection and SlopStop:

While I don't use any AI, I applaud Kagi for what they're doing. You can go Full AI if you want, and No AI if you don't. The whole spectrum and then some.

SlopStop | Kagi's Docs

Kagi Search Help