DuckDuckGo installs jumped 18% after Google killed the blue links. On Apple devices, the spike hit 70%.

DuckDuckGo US app installs increased by an average of 18% week over week from 20 to 25 May, sustaining for six consecutive days and reaching 30% on Memorial Day Monday. Apple device weekly install growth reached 33%, with a single-day peak of almost 70%. DuckDuckGo’s AI-free search page noai.duckduckgo.com saw average 23% week-over-week visitor growth, peaking at 28% on Sunday. The page disables AI-generated answers and shows a plain results list. The surge followed Google’s I/O 2026 plan to replace blue links with AI tools that answer questions, complete tasks, and run background monitoring agents, alongside reports that Chrome installs a 4 GB Gemini Nano model without explicit permission or notification.

"DuckDuckGo US app installs jumped by an average of 18% week over week between 20 and 25 May. The growth sustained for six consecutive days, peaking at 30% on Memorial Day Monday. On Apple devices, weekly install growth reached 33%, with a single-day peak of almost 70%."

Read at TNW | Artificial-Intelligence