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How to Block Google from Tracking Your iPhone Searches in iOS 8

Sep 16, 2014 08:22 PM

Sep 17, 2014 02:30 AM

"Mobile phone screen displaying 'Do Not Track' settings."

Anytime you surf the web on your iPad or iPhone, Safari saves which webpages you visit, the information you enter into them, and other types of data. This not only make your internet experience quicker, but it'll also keep track of everything you're doing.

Safari does have an option to enable "Do Not Track" so that third-party advertisers will stop tracking your browsing history. You can also block all cookies from websites if you want. Even better, you can use Private mode to browse Safari, preventing cookies, tracking, and your browsing history.

Now, in iOS 8, there's another way to browse the web more privately.

DuckDuckGo, a search engine known for its privacy features, prevents any of your search information from being accessed by third-parties through a method of encryption, link redirection, not saving search history, keeping your IP address secret, and more. If you want more details about how DuckDuckGo keeps you secure, check out their Privacy page.

With iOS 8, you can know set DuckDuckGo as your default Safari search engine to keep Bing, Yahoo, and Google from seeing your searches. Of course, you'll still be able to access your browsing history in Safari, but this feature is more about protecting yourself from Google's all-seeing eye.

Note: Google will still see your browsing activity if any sites use Google Analytics (most do), AdSense (many do), or DFP (even more do).

To set up DuckDuckGo as your default search engine, go to Settings -> Safari -> Search Engine and select DuckDuckGo from the list.

Settings menu for the Safari browser on an iPhone, showing search engine options with Google selected.

Search engine selection screen on mobile device with DuckDuckGo highlighted.

When you search for something through the URL address bar, you'll now get DuckDuckGo search results as pictured below.

Access settings by tapping on the three-bar menu and going to Settings; here you'll be able to change many general settings, mess with the appearance of DDG, and also enable/disable privacy features.

How to Block Google from Tracking Your iPhone Searches in iOS 8

Settings menu for a mobile application displaying options for search and privacy preferences.

Privacy settings

All together DuckDuckGo is a less invasive search engine than Google, which should be great news for those of us that enjoy our privacy.

More iOS 8 Tips...

To see what else you can do in Apple's latest mobile operating system, check out the Coolest Hidden Features of iOS 8, as well as the Best Hidden Safari Features, Top Hidden Features in Messages, and our other iOS 8 tips.

Also, follow Gadget Hacks on Facebook and Twitter for more great tips.

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.