I am the same. The fact is Google knows a fair bit about my searches and knows when I type Django that I mean the web framework (not the film). Duck Duck Go needs extra term in the search to know that I am looking for the software and not the film.
You know... I also had a hunch Google "profiles" me from my searches and because of that, seemingly returns better results.
But now we are back at the greater discussion... the feeling that your searches happen within a bubble. The odd realization that you haven't discovered anything new in a long time.
This has been discussed on HN many times. But usually people talk about how Google doesn't index the sites the same way.... But here we are pointing out a much more specific culprit: Google actually tries to help you, but does it? (I mean, with the SAME index it will show different results to different users. So the INDEX itself is affected by their algorithm, and then on top of that, Google filters and tweaks results to fit your own bubble.)
You know I may be walking around the block to look for new appartments... and maybe I stumble on a nice bookstore. With this "help" from Google, this doesn't happen anymore.
Anyone know if you can turn off this profiling entirely while reamining signed on?
( I have the same issue on YouTube... With YT I have got into the habit of using Incognito (ctrl shift N) for random youtube browsing.. that way when I go to the home page I get recommendations I tend to like, because I only allow certain content in my youtube history. )
Well yes, this is the expected behaviour of a search engine.
You ask for django and you get results for django[1]. When what you search has several possible meanings duckduckgo allows you to choose which one in the "meanings" top bar[2]. Thus preserving your freedom of choice and your privacy.
This is actually the whole point of duckduckgo, it has no filter bubble.
Then you also have all the usual search engine options: adding keywords, filtering out by keywords, etc.
I just put this to the test by entering "Django" into DDG and the search results page literally alternates between Django, the framework, and Django, the film name: Each odd result is about the framework, each even result is about movies of that name.
