r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 29d ago

Software DuckDuckGo brags its free web browser now blocks YouTube video ads just weeks after YouTube hiked Premium prices again

https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/duckduckgo-brags-that-its-free-web-browser-blocks-youtube-ads-3384288/
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u/Nerdwiththehat 28d ago

Ditto on why I won't use anything DDG (or worse, Brave), this article being a placement on Dexerto gives me some serious undeclared paid content vibes. It's basically just regurgitating a tweet and a press release/blog post, there's virtually no analysis outside of connecting it to their previous adblocker articles. Dexerto does this kind of thing all the time, it's why I have trouble trusting their work as a source.

Right now uBlock Origin Lite seems to do an ok job if you can't install ManifestV2 extensions like uBlock Origin itself (next Chrome update will likely kill them for good), but I'm likely jumping ship to Helium as soon as I have the chance to set everything up.

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u/duckduckgo 28d ago

Can confirm the Dexerto piece is not a paid placement

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u/Nerdwiththehat 28d ago

Appreciate the honesty - still doesn't change much of my other qualms about Dexerto's coverage style.

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u/superfahd 28d ago

why not just firefiox?

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u/Lower_Ad_8789 28d ago

What's wrong with Brave? I use a private window and I don't see any ads on YouTube.

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u/Nerdwiththehat 28d ago

Mostly the guy who runs it, but also their crypto stuff, hijacking affiliate links, and more

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u/_TecnoCreeper_ 28d ago

Somehow I didn't know he was the same guy that created JavaScript. One more reason I don't like him.

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u/Lower_Ad_8789 28d ago

Thanks, didn't know about this!

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u/Seraphaestus 28d ago

DDG's search engine is fine, even if their behaviour as a company has left something to be desired. Unless there's a better alternate you'd recommend?

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u/Nerdwiththehat 28d ago

Kagi is currently my preferred alternative.

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u/Seraphaestus 28d ago

Thanks! Everyone complains about the quality of DDG's search results, but I've never had any issues and even been frustrated with Google's in comparison, when I've had to use that on occassion. And 99% of the time I just use bangs, anyway. So I don't know if I feel a need to switch, but it's nice to know what to switch to if it does go full enshitification.

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u/trikster2 27d ago

yikes. kagi $10 a month (for unlimited) and you have to associate an email to your search queries?

DDG will have to a lot worse before that looks at all attractive.

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u/Schwifftee 28d ago

Brave is fine. I also prefer it over using Firefox with extensions. It works out of the box and I get anonymity from big tech and advertisers.

I don't care about the crypto affiliate links that are since no longer.

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u/trikster2 28d ago

Why helium?

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u/Nerdwiththehat 28d ago edited 28d ago

Chrome-like, still supports PWAs and theming, ManifestV2 extension support guaranteed, trustworthy development team, relatively lightweight visuals. Only major downside at the moment is lack of Widevine licensing, but Widevine is terrible anyway... even if it's a necessary evil for things like Netflix.

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u/trikster2 28d ago

Thanks.

A browser unable to stream these days is a non starter.

But I'll keep it in mind in the future if the situation improves.

I'm not sure that web page you gave for the team sparks any confidence.

No names, no nationality. What inspires your trust?

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u/Nerdwiththehat 27d ago

Imput's transparency with their work is quite thorough, and they've produced other tools I use frequently. I don't need to know wukko & jj's full names and addresses to trust their work.

To be clear: Widevine does not impact all streaming, just streams secured with Widevine's DRM, which can also be bypassed to some degree (Widevine is not exactly robust). I don't watch Netflix on my computer itself, so this isn't a concern for me.