The Blubber

Apple, $AAPL, held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Google as the default search engine for the private mode on Apple’s Safari browser.

The particulars of discussions between Apple and DuckDuckGo, as well as Apple's considerations regarding the acquisition of Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search engine in 2018 and 2020, have been disclosed in transcripts that were unsealed by the judge overseeing the U.S. government's antitrust trial against Google, as reported by Bloomberg.

DuckDuckGo engaged in approximately 20 meetings and phone calls with Apple executives, including the head of Safari, to explore the possibility of becoming the default search engine for private browsing. It's noteworthy that Safari, in Private mode, refrains from tracking websites or recording users' browsing history.

In 2018, Apple also entered into discussions with Microsoft executives concerning the potential use of Bing's search engine for Safari. A series of meetings occurred in the fall of 2018, and discussions resumed around Christmas in 2020, aiming to explore the prospects of a joint venture or a potential sale of Bing to Apple, as stated by Apple executive John Giannandrea.

Nevertheless, negotiations with DuckDuckGo failed to materialize, primarily because DuckDuckGo depended on Bing for its search information. Giannandrea expressed the view that DuckDuckGo's "marketing about privacy is somewhat incongruent with the details," underscoring the apparent inconsistency between its privacy claims and reliance on Bing for search data.