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

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.

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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.

Privacy settings

Privacy settings

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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.

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