They wouldn't, and DDG has a convenient way to disable ads which I am sure many users take advantage of.
Still, millions of users do click those ads, because if nobody did, DDG would not exist. A less tech savvy user, who is probably DDGs main target, came on the promise of privacy and does click those ads and is also being tracked around the web by Microsoft if they use DDG browser (from what I understand).
This is less than ideal from the standpoint of "privacy simplified" promise, but really no other way around it when selling ads is your business model.
I wonder how many “less tech savvy” users use ddg, because in my experience people who actually care about their security are quite tech savvy as a rule - not necessarily in IT though. While the others use a default search engine/browser/whatever.
Those kind of people usually do not click on ads, have ads disabled and/or use ad blockers.
But because they are tech savvy, they the the ones friends and family ask what browser/search engine to use, so you end up with 20 more less tech savvy people on the platform, and they are probably the ones that end up clicking on ads (because, again, DDG is making a ton of money with that)
Still, millions of users do click those ads, because if nobody did, DDG would not exist. A less tech savvy user, who is probably DDGs main target, came on the promise of privacy and does click those ads and is also being tracked around the web by Microsoft if they use DDG browser (from what I understand).
This is less than ideal from the standpoint of "privacy simplified" promise, but really no other way around it when selling ads is your business model.