Change iPhone search to DuckDuckGo for better privacy protection

Privacy-conscious friends prefer DuckDuckGo over Google

Photo by cottonbro

Some of my friends are quite privacy and security-conscious. They put protectors over their desktop and laptop cameras. They worry about the cameras on their iPhone. An iPhone is already a more secure environment than an Android phone, I reassure these friends.

DuckDuckGo is an additional step iPhone owners can take to protect their privacy. DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that does not collect personal data in the way that Google and other search engines do.

On my iPhone, DuckDuckGo is the search engine Safari uses. Although there is a DuckDuckGo browser available in the App Store, I prefer the default iPhone Safari browser searching with DuckDuckGo. If I want to search with Google, I use the Google app.

How to change iPhone Safari search engine

1. Open Settings

2. Navigate to Safari

Safari app settings in Settings app

3. Select Search Engine

Select Search Engine in Safari settings

4. Select a new search engine. I recommend DuckDuckGo for privacy.

Select a search engine. Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo selected here.

There you have it. An easy way to improve privacy protection on an iPhone.