I have been using DDG for over 2yrs. and have yet to have any issues with it. I unlike the masses am very watchful of what goes on that is why I don't use Google
They at best are very biased in their searches which became obvious in the presidential election. So if you were honest it would be Google who I would not approve. In searches I have found nothing negative about DDG. This is starting to turn me against Avast more than DDG. And instead of listen to the BS from Avast telling me DDG is not safe I turned the feature off all together. I am not interested in bogus info especially from my AV software. At this point and time I am seriously considering leaving Avast and finding a new AV software.