Our browsing protections, such as ad tracker blocking and cookie blocking, help stop other companies from collecting your data. Our built-in search engine is like Google but never tracks your searches. In September 2013, the search engine hit 4 million searches per day and in June 2015, it hit 10 million searches per day. In May 2022, a report from Bleeping Computer by security researcher Zach Edwards found that DuckDuckGo Private Browser allowed Microsoft’s trackers to continue running while visiting non-DuckDuckGo websites, unlike Google and Facebook trackers, which were blocked. In a statement to Engadget, DuckDuckGo said that The Pirate Bay and Youtube-dl were never removed from its search results if the user searched for those websites using their name or web address.
DuckDuckGo earns revenue by serving ads primarily from the Yahoo-Bing search alliance network. Duck.ai Image Gen is a feature that allows users to create AI-generated images by entering descriptive prompts. DuckDuckGo states that conversations within Duck.ai are stored locally on the user’s device, and that prompts and outputs are not retained for model training because all data sent to providers is anonymized.
DuckDuckGo includes “!Bang” keywords, which give users the ability to search on specific third-party websites – using the site’s own search engine if applicable. Brave Browser provides users with its private search service, known as Brave Search, as a dependable option. By default, DuckDuckGo shuts out tracking companies, so websites cannot follow users throughout the online space. DuckDuckGo delivers an internet browsing solution that lets people enjoy privacy protection against data capture and advertisement targeting, and website tracking.

A Living Network of Stunning Sources

These Instant Answers are collected from either third party APIs or static data sources like text files. It also uses data from crowdsourced sites such as Wikipedia, to populate knowledge panel boxes to the right of the search results. The subscription launched to users of the DuckDuckGo browser in the United States. As of March 2022update, DuckDuckGo handled 102,704,358 daily searches on average. The feature launched in beta for users of DuckDuckGo Private Browser on iOS and Android. On January 15, 2019, DuckDuckGo announced that all map and address-related searches would be powered by Apple Maps, both on desktop and mobile devices.
The search engine is available on all existing systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and others; all you need is a web browser to access it. The search engine, the mobile browser, and the browser extensions operate free of charge. The secure connections formed through this feature protect vital information such as login credentials and personal data, so hackers cannot intercept them.
It offers the same tracker-blocking security features as the mobile app and uses the DuckDuckGo search engine as well. It comes with tracker blocking and encrypted search via the DuckDuckGo search engine, together with other privacy features. The DuckDuckGo search engine can be used through every major browser, including, but not limited to, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge, without performing any installation.

Version History

Both of these products have protections against web tracking and other privacy intrusions for all web browsing (not limited to DuckDuckGo searches). Most people don’t want to choose just one search engine — because different searches need different tools. We feature many protections not available on most browsers and extensions, even in private browsing mode, including protection from link tracking, Global Privacy Control, and more.

Why Choose Google Over DuckDuckGo

Peace of mind.At DuckDuckGo, we believe the best way to protect your personal information from hackers, scammers, and privacy-invasive companies is to stop it from being collected at all. In August 2022, DuckDuckGo began blocking Microsoft’s trackers, saying https://betsixty.casino/ that the policy preventing them from doing so no longer applied. As for the quality, I’m not saying that Weinberg has figured out a way to return more relevant results than Google’s mighty search team. It just offers core Web search—mostly the “ten blue links” approach that’s still really useful, no matter what its critics say … Just as In-N-Out doesn’t have lattes or Asian salads or sundaes or scrambled eggs, DDG doesn’t try to do news or blogs or books or images.
In August 2010, DuckDuckGo introduced anonymous searching, including an exit enclave, for its search engine traffic using Tor network and enabling access through a “Tor hidden service” (onion service). The Instant Answers are called zeroclickinfo because the intention behind these is to provide what users are searching for on the search result page itself so that they do not have to click any results to find what they are looking for. DuckDuckGo offers limited third-party tracking protection, third-party cookie protection, CNAME cloaking protection, limited device fingerprint protection from third parties, link tracking removal, Google AMP replacement, and do-not-track requests. In September 2022, Debian package maintainers switched the default search engine in Chromium to DuckDuckGo for privacy reasons.

Quality Matters

The service continually promotes encrypted connections when websites allow it for maintaining secure HTTPS connections. As an internet search provider and a mobile web browser, DuckDuckGo focuses on maintaining user privacy above all else. One major advantage of DuckDuckGo lies in its delivery of search results, which do not include personalization. The tracker-blocking capability stands as one of the key motives to select DuckDuckGo as your search engine. Search engines, together with browsers, amass enormous data, which allows them to create user profiles so they can deliver targeted advertisements. The DuckDuckGo search engine can be accessed on any web browser, and it is also available as an application for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Users remain anonymous to websites because the system conceals both their IP addresses and stops websites from monitoring their actions. Tor offers more than search functions, since it operates as a complete privacy-enhanced web browser that directs traffic across various encrypted servers. Startpage operates a different search model from DuckDuckGo because it functions as a Google privacy safeguard rather than using its own search technology. Users experience total privacy on DuckDuckGo because it refuses to track personal information while keeping all its features free of charge to everybody.

  • Users experience total privacy on DuckDuckGo because it refuses to track personal information while keeping all its features free of charge to everybody.
  • Users benefit from built-in encryption because it establishes safe connections whenever available on websites.
  • People who want their information protected from trackers can benefit from the DuckDuckGo search engine because it provides a solution to privacy concerns through its unique features.
  • Right360 gives you the freedom to use the best engine for each search, not the one Big Tech defaults you into.
  • In July 2010, Weinberg started a DuckDuckGo community website (duck.co) to allow the public to report problems, discuss means of spreading the use of the search engine, request features, and discuss open sourcing the code.
  • Automatically learns to block hidden trackers.

The company registered the domain name ddg.gg on February 22, 2011, and acquired duck.com in December 2018, which are used as shortened URL aliases that redirect to duckduckgo.com, and is also used as the domain for their email protection service. Google and DuckDuckGo are two of the most widely compared search engines — one known for power and personalization, the other for privacy and simplicity. Take back your online privacy by using Startpage as your default search engine. Adds Swisscows as the default search engine in your browser. Join the millions of people using DuckDuckGo to protect their everyday searching, browsing, and emailing. Chrome’s Tracking Tech Protection — stops Google from using your browser to collect and auction off your personal data with their latest advertising trackers and targeting (“Protected Audience API” and “Topics API”).

Features

  • As a privacy-focused search engine, the ads served on DuckDuckGo are based on keywords and terms of the search query.
  • In September 2022, Debian package maintainers switched the default search engine in Chromium to DuckDuckGo for privacy reasons.
  • The search index of Brave Search operates separately from other popular search engines because it maintains its own independent database to guarantee maximum privacy and visibility.
  • By May 2012, the search engine was attracting 1.5 million searches a day.
  • Danny Sullivan wrote on Search Engine Land that despite the search engine’s growth “it’s not grown anywhere near the amount to reflect any substantial or even mildly notable switching by the searching public” for reasons due to privacy, and he concluded “No One Cares About “Private” Search”.
  • If you’re a younger person, do not post here asking members to give you advice on dating people 50 or older.
  • On May 30, 2016, The Tor Project, Inc made DuckDuckGo the default search engine for Tor Browser 6.0.

Note that since version 6.0.6 of Tor, the default search engine in Tor Browser is now DuckDuckGo. Users receive fast, secure browsing from the browser because it prevents ads along with trackers, and scripts from running. The search index of Brave Search operates separately from other popular search engines because it maintains its own independent database to guarantee maximum privacy and visibility. DuckDuckGo operates by showing advertisements that link to search terms, but never uses user-specific browsing activity for targeting. DuckDuckGo delivers equal search results to all users through its platform to maintain an impartial search activity.
At its keynote speech at WWDC 2014 on September 18, 2014, Apple announced that DuckDuckGo would be included as an option for search on both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in its Safari browser. DuckDuckGo’s own traffic statistics show that in August 2012 there were 1,393,644 visits per day, up from an average of 39,406 visits per day in April 2010 (the earliest data available). We did it for the Internet anarchists, people that hang out on Reddit and Hacker News.
In December 2024, DuckDuckGo criticized Google’s proposed remedies in an antitrust case related to search engine monopolies. In April 2022, TorrentFreak reported that DuckDuckGo had blocked search results for some major pirating websites, including The Pirate Bay, 1337x and FMovies, as well as video downloading software Youtube-dl. The search engine’s Instant Answers are open source and are maintained on GitHub, where anyone can view the source code.