14 DAY TRIAL // Google decided to deal with EU competition requirements by offering a search engine choice screen on devices running Android and sold in Europe.
In other words, when setting up a new Android phone in Europe, users can choose a different search engine than Google, and until recently the available options also included DuckDuckGo.
But the Mountain View-based search giant chooses what search engines it shows in this list by using quarterly auctions focused services that are profitable.
This year, DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine that many actually use as an alternative to Google, was no longer added to the list because it doesn’t meet the profit criteria used by the Mountain View-based giant.
“DuckDuckGo, despite being the Google alternative that consumers most want to select, will no longer appear in most countries. As a result, many EU residents buying a new Android device will no longer have an easy way to adopt a private search engine,” DuckDuckGo says in a blog post.
“Despite DuckDuckGo being robustly profitable since 2014, we have been priced out of this auction because we choose to not maximize our profits by exploiting our users. In practical terms, this means our commitment to privacy and a cleaner search experience translates into less money per search. This means we must bid less relative to other, profit-maximizing companies,” it continues.
No word from Google
So essentially, DuckDuckGo says it’s no longer offered as an option on Android because it doesn’t turn to a practice that would compromise the privacy of its users.
“We weren’t eliminated sooner for two reasons. First, prices were temporarily depressed due to less bidders because we believe not all eligible companies submitted the initial paperwork on time to participate in early rounds. Second, we didn't have adequate data on auction outcomes and how it impacted our business until this round,” it says.
Google hasn’t yet responded to these claims.