Analyst Argues Apple Should Acquire DuckDuckGo Search Engine

Apple should purchase a search engine to put pressure on Google, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said Monday in a research report that was shared by Barron's.

duckduckgo
Apple and Google don't share details on the amount of money that Google pays to be the default search engine for iOS and Siri, but Sacconaghi estimates that it's around $7 to $8 billion per year, or 30 percent of the estimated $25 billion that Google generates in ad revenue from search on Apple devices.

Google has long paid Apple to prevent Apple from turning to other search engine options like Microsoft's Bing, but Sacconaghi believes that Google has the upper hand in business dealings because it could opt to end its Apple deal if it can convince 70 percent of iOS users to go to Google.com for searching even if it's not the default Safari option.

Apple doesn't have many alternatives to Google, with its only leverage being a swap to Bing, so Sacconaghi suggests that Apple should acquire its own search engine.

"Yes, Google is clearly the dominant force in search today. However, we suspect the company's fear of 'rocking the boat'--which could compromise $15 billion in profits it captures today from iOS--may ultimately limit its freedom of action with Apple. Conversely, Apple may be in a stronger position than at first glance, given it controls the keys to the kingdom on who can monetize iOS search. However, it remains uncomfortably dependent on Bing to act as a counterweight to Google--hence our suggestion that Apple acquire its own search engine."

As for which search engine, Sacconaghi thinks that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine option, would be a good choice for Apple. Apple could, he speculates, buy it for under $1 billion, giving Apple a solid backup option that does not rely on Google or Microsoft.

"To be certain, we doubt an Apple-owned DuckDuckGo could ever generate profits sufficient to make back the $7 billion to $8 billion a year currently paid by Google. Nevertheless, Apple would still likely be better off than a worst-case scenario where it had no backup, and Google or Microsoft (one or the other) withdrew from the bidding process altogether."

DuckDuckGo would also be compatible with Apple's privacy values, offering iOS users a search option that is free from invasive ad tracking.

Sacconaghi warns that if Apple did attempt to purchase a search engine like DuckDuckGo, it could trigger regulatory oversight that could ultimately block the acquisition, putting Apple in a worse position than before. DuckDuckGo is also reliant on Bing, so Apple would need to make changes to be completely free of Microsoft's influence.

Apple previously used Bing for ‌Siri‌ and Spotlight on Mac and iOS, but in 2017 swapped over to Google for consistency across iOS and Mac devices. Apple has not been rumored to be seeking to make a search engine acquisition.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

icanhazmac Avatar
67 months ago
I've been using DDG exclusively for a few years now and have zero complains about their search returns. Don't really trust anything google anymore.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entropys Avatar
67 months ago

I use DDG for most routine stuff, however, it you really need to find something obscure, DDG does not cut it.
sadly that is my experience as well. good enough most of the time though, and you aren’t letting the evil crew at google know what you are up to.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nt5672 Avatar
67 months ago
I use DDG for most routine stuff, however, it you really need to find something obscure, DDG does not cut it.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avtella Avatar
67 months ago
I tried DuckDuckGo and Bing with a pretty open mind, they were unfortunately both pretty terrible if you do anything more than very simple searches. From searching on computer issues and coding all the way to things like research articles; simply typing or pasting parts of a reference article or title gives excellent results in Google but DuckDuckGo and Bing usually gave results that were no where near what I needed and at times results were let’s just say pretty out there. All that data collection is basically why Google usually gives better results.

In my experience searching for maybe a famous person or an animal I’d probably not notice a difference between the three but get into some hard searches ie research/science concepts/phrases or sections of articles and books etc, and Google is the only one that consistently gives proper results for me. With the Bing and DuckDuckGo I ended up wasting a lot more time scrolling through a few pages just get one or two proper results.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
67 months ago

Is DDG using google, just scrubbing user identification?
https://help.duckduckgo.com/results/sources/

To do that, DuckDuckGo gets its results from over four hundred sources. These include hundreds of vertical sources delivering niche Instant Answers, DuckDuckBot (our crawler) and crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia, stored in our answer indexes). We also of course have more traditional links in the search results, which we also source from multiple partners, though most commonly from Bing (and none from Google).
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rgeneral Avatar
67 months ago
Please no. Leave the Duck alone!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)