# Is it unethical to let uBlock Origin block DuckDuckGo's search results advertisements? **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/is-it-unethical-to-let-ublock-origin-block-duckduckgos-search-results-advertisements/37055 **Category:** Off Topic **Tags:** software **Created:** 2026-04-11T12:18:31Z **Posts:** 18 ## Post 1 by @SYST3M_D3STR0YER — 2026-04-11T12:18:31Z I think the great majority of people here is using uBlock Orign and a good portion of people here use DuckDuckGo as a daily driver for search. uBlock Origin blocks the search result advertisements from DuckDuckGo. Unlike almost all other ads, DuckDuckGo’s search results ads are privacy-preserving and the majority of DuckDuckGo’s income [is](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/how-duckduckgo-makes-money#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20our%20revenue%20is%20from%20private%20ads%20on%20our%20search%20engine.) from these private ads. By default, uBlock Origin blocks these privacy preserving ads too. So, given all these information, what do you think? Is it unethical to _ **not** _ put [DuckDuckGo.com](http://DuckDuckGo.com) to the whitelist of uBlock Origin? And also, do you think that changes if you allow the ads on one of your devices and block them on the other? --- ## Post 2 by @anon96036341 — 2026-04-11T12:56:20Z > [@SYST3M_D3STR0YER](#): > > uBlock Origin blocks the search result advertisements from DuckDuckGo It doesn’t for me. Have you set it up such that it does? How come you don’t see it on your end? Given the highly commercialized nature of what the internet is now, I don’t feel bad at all about ensuring a better experience for yourself, which is also more safer than not. So, no. I personally do not feel bad. --- ## Post 3 by @ph00lt0 — 2026-04-11T12:57:44Z DuckDuckGo offees you a setting to disable ads so I don’t see the problem. I decide what runs on my machine. --- ## Post 4 by @DanielM — 2026-04-11T13:38:38Z > [@SYST3M_D3STR0YER](#): > > So, given all these information, what do you think? You’ve asked a good question here, and I’ll answer it based on my personal experience (I’ll make that clear from the start): 1. Ads are annoying by default → they distract you, can include unexpected surprises like malware or other threats, disrupt the experience when you’re focused on something important, and some lead to unnecessary spending (for example: spending more than you need to, etc.), etc. 2. They consume mobile data bandwidth → when you want to save data and make it last as long as possible for the month, ads eat into that. 3. Just because something is private doesn’t mean it’s secure → it’s not guaranteed. So, with that in mind, I choose to block them anyway. I don’t accept “acceptable ads.” The decision is yours. --- ## Post 5 by @FranklyFlawless — 2026-04-11T16:29:09Z > [@SYST3M_D3STR0YER](#): > > So, given all these information, what do you think? Fine with me, although I have my own filter list supplemented on top of that to deal with other cosmetic and network requests. --- ## Post 6 by @beantaco — 2026-04-11T23:26:17Z > Is it unethical to let uBlock Origin block DuckDuckGo’s search results advertisements? Of course not. Everyone has a right to decide what runs or downloads onto their own devices. Nobody has an obligation to be fed bullshit. People and things, for instance laws banning ad blockers, promoting or forcing people not to exercise that right are the ones being unethical. --- ## Post 7 by @volumes_clear — 2026-08-20T19:58:27Z **1)** **Microsoft gets a cut from you scrolling ads on DDG, which is counterproductive in making the world a better place.** Microsoft gets a cut because DDG does not have an independent ad network. They rely on Microsoft Advertising in the backend. Whitelisting ads on DDG means you starve Big Tech and feed it simultaneously. In this situation, a more ethical way would be starving Microsoft and feeding DDG. DDG offers this option with their subscription, which AFAIK goes to DDG more or less directly. Buying it for even month would be more ethical because it’s targeted, while impact from watching ads is dispersed to DDG and Microsoft. **2) You could be using DuckDuckGo without adblocker for years, and they would get ~10 cents from it.** The ad revenue from individual person is minuscule. Thus blocking ads on DDG is neither meaningfully ethical nor meaningfully unethical. If you really want to help the privacy cause, it’s better to make one-time 1 dollar donation to a digital rights NGO of your choosing (like Graphene or Tor or EFF), and that would have much more impact than years of watching ads. --- ## Post 8 by @john.982387487 — 2026-08-21T05:46:25Z Even more, I use uBO+noScript and don’t whitelist DDG --- ## Post 9 by @Expert4870 — 2026-08-21T05:54:10Z I would pay less than 3 dollars a month for Brave search if they accepted Monero. It makes me sad that neither Kagi, Brave, DDG, or Startpage offers a paid, no-ads plan that accepts Monero. It would be great for the others but I I would only pay for Brave honestly and perhaps Kagi. --- ## Post 10 by @trilobyte — 2026-08-21T15:06:03Z > I think the great majority of people here is using uBlock Orign and a good portion of people here use DuckDuckGo as a daily driver for search. uBlock Origin blocks the search result advertisements from DuckDuckGo. Unlike almost all other ads, DuckDuckGo’s search results ads are privacy-preserving and the majority of DuckDuckGo’s income [is](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/how-duckduckgo-makes-money#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20our%20revenue%20is%20from%20private%20ads%20on%20our%20search%20engine.) from these private ads. By default, uBlock Origin blocks these privacy preserving ads too. So, given all these information, what do you think? Is it unethical to _ **not** _ put [DuckDuckGo.com](http://DuckDuckGo.com) to the whitelist of uBlock Origin? And also, do you think that changes if you allow the ads on one of your devices and block them on the other? What are your ethics? I think it’s reasonable to assume DuckDuckGo intends for its service to be accessible to people with adblocker, while no crimes or dishonesty are committed. Therefore it is acceptable according to my ethics. Other actions may be good to do, but their lack does not indicate an ethical breach in my case. --- ## Post 11 by @anonymous644 — 2026-08-21T15:14:33Z No. My right to decide what content my browser requests and displays outweighs DuckDuckGo’s interest in showing me an ad. --- ## Post 12 by @tuxayo — 2026-08-21T20:40:39Z Something that could be applicable to some services you care the most about is to leave ads/trackers blocked and contact them asking if there they have a way for you to send small recurring payments. Or for lack of, punctual payments (not as convenient to set up and forget) or subscription offers (rigid in the price that might not correspond to your usage or finances). Or if you know a promising alternative that can take money, you could fund it instead. (not likely applicable for search engines) Can’t do much more when a lot of online things only offer one funding method and it’s the trashy advertising one :person_shrugging: The burden is not on us when there is so little choice and choosing means research/learning/migration work for every single thing we use online :face_with_spiral_eyes: (assuming it’s even possible when there isn’t a network effect or some other monopoly) --- ## Post 13 by @notwithstanding — 2026-08-22T03:43:52Z You can pay for Uruky with XMR via ProxyStore. Notably, none of those providers you listed probably have a separate, high quality index comparable to what Google or Microsoft have collected. It is a problem that (as I see it) can only be solved by having a (potentially internationally cooperative) government program to run a search index that is treated as a public utility. Otherwise, the only path to such high-quality indexes is… a gargantuan ad network, or a gargantuan loss-leader. EDIT: Taking bets on how long until Proton starts their own index and search project. --- ## Post 14 by @Expert4870 — 2026-08-22T03:52:28Z > [@notwithstanding](#): > > Notably, none of those providers you listed probably have a separate, high quality index comparable to what Google or Microsoft have collected. Brave’s results are high quality for me and I thought they had a separate index :person_shrugging:. --- ## Post 15 by @notwithstanding — 2026-08-22T04:06:57Z I just checked, and according to their materials you are correct. The information has changed since I last checked (evidently years ago), go figure. Thank you for pointing it out. --- ## Post 16 by @anonymous679 — 2026-08-22T12:58:45Z The only unethical thing here is the system that DDG finds itself in, such that ads are their majority source of income. Had everyone who actually uses DDG paid for it, I doubt they’d need to advertise. Nothing is free, and a lot of people on the Internet have gotten used to that being the case. --- ## Post 17 by @Libre_Software_Enjoyer — 2026-08-22T15:07:38Z Just make a small donation to DuckDuckGo then block the ads without worrying --- ## Post 18 by @Expert4870 — 2026-08-22T15:22:54Z They accept donations?