@joeinwynnewood @emilymbender I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I am tired. I am a cog in a machine that keeps people alive, and though only a cog I share the same planet and have a personal life, like you, and like the developersnof DDG -- look, that sloppiness wouldn't stand in my workplace. Things have to do, or do not, and withstand and adapt. The annoyance is supreme, personally. So I get frustrated and shout at strangers. Context, I guess. Anyhow, apologies and good day/night.

@joeinwynnewood @emilymbender Correct, which is why I think that the default position is that DDG doesn't actually provide an opt-out, despite having a toggle switch which says otherwise. If my anonymity or preference is enforced only after presenting an ID and pulling a personal file that 'aint an opt-out. Chart the decision-tree out and the opt-out works for one specific path, coincidentally the path of idgaf and rawdog the internet. But, yeah, they have a toggle.

@joeinwynnewood @emilymbender Sorry, let me rephrase a little. If you clear data between use, or block trackers it doesn't work. Having a flag from the developers which could be passed to the browser as another catagory to toggle under various browser privacy settings, eg. cookies, tracking, local access, etc., would ensure intended function, set a functional precedent for browser developers and users, all while allowing for privacy.

@joeinwynnewood @emilymbender I've got AI turning itself on every session across devices despite preferences. If you disallow history, tracking, storage, etc. it is a fresh instance evey use. Theae are are all options available in browser settings. So, if you allow for nothing else then it works as advertised. Which is my point. It's opposite what it ought to be, and isn't actually functional if you exercise the options available you. I hope that makes sense. I appreciate the dialogue.

@joeinwynnewood @emilymbender Ah, yet when you use privacy features within DuckDuckGo, or numerous available browsers, disabling AI is (predictably) per session. It would seem the better way would be to have opt-out by default, with locally stored flag for enabling AI being useful for those that have... not bothered with privacy -- which is not their target audience? So, I am sorry but DuckDuckGo does not allow for disabling AI; it is a misleading claim.

@randahl @elCelio I respect your position, but I suspect a deeper anaysis would reveal that the incentives favour a total pivot to generative AI content, and I fear the tipping point is far closer than we think. I am terribly ignorant, tho wide strokes and public information appear to paint a picture of current and past media harvest to supplant with purchased narrative and low-risk scam. It's burning hot at both ends of the fuze. Not enuf room to expound upon, thank goodness, eh?