Flip the question around for a moment. Why aren't we all super paranoid about Google? Because we more or less believe that the way they use the information they collect isn't damaging to us. It doesn't mean we trust them completely, 100%, in every way, shape or form. It doesn't mean we don't use google's service with some degree of reservation that using their service is a bad idea even if they are telling the truth.
If I didn't have a basic level of trust with google I wouldn't use the service. I can apply that same basic level of trust with duckduckgo.
Once you apply that unbiased trust, you have two services: one that uses a variety of technology to protect the information they collect and one that doesn't collect information at all and takes steps to prevent others from doing the same.
Google might get bought out. Google might be subject to a sopoena. A google employee might steal something. Google might make a mistake. Any one of those things might prevent Google from fulfilling the basic promise of "we won't misuse your data." They won't ever have to lie or do anything evil. They might just make a mistake, and all your data will be there, vulnerable.
If I didn't have a basic level of trust with google I wouldn't use the service. I can apply that same basic level of trust with duckduckgo.
Once you apply that unbiased trust, you have two services: one that uses a variety of technology to protect the information they collect and one that doesn't collect information at all and takes steps to prevent others from doing the same.
Google might get bought out. Google might be subject to a sopoena. A google employee might steal something. Google might make a mistake. Any one of those things might prevent Google from fulfilling the basic promise of "we won't misuse your data." They won't ever have to lie or do anything evil. They might just make a mistake, and all your data will be there, vulnerable.