I have location tracking turned off completely on the system and browser level. Yet, DuckDuckGo is still using my IP address to estimate where I live. Even worse, I’ve manually set DuckDuckGo to a completely different country, and I still get localized results.

It’s already annoying enough that the first 6-7 results are ads, but why do they have to aggressively push my location into searches I never asked for?

I find it extremely invasive to have location tailored results forced into my searches. Examples include local stores/restaurants and government websites. These are usually completely irrelevant to my query.

For instance, imagine trying to figure out how to do something complex in Excel. Because of the technical nature of the topic, you usually have to dig a few pages deep to find a real solution. But on page one, you're greeted with results on how to sign up for your local public library.…