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It’s not the Duck Duck Goose children’s game — DuckDuckGo is a safe, private search engine and web browser that doesn’t track users. Learn more about the upsides and downsides of DuckDuckGo, and get a dedicated private browser to help block tracking cookies and steer clear of malicious sites and dangerous downloads.
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DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine and web browser that blocks ad tracking and doesn’t store personal data. It aims to offer a secure browsing experience that protects user privacy, acting as an alternative to traditional search engines like Google or Bing.
Many search engines keep track of everything, from where you go to what you buy. DuckDuckGo, on the other hand, doesn’t monitor its users. While that means it’s impossible to say how many users it has, at the beginning of 2025, it accounted for around 0.7% of global search engine traffic.
Unlike competitors, such as Google or Bing, ads can’t follow you on DuckDuckGo. Its anti-tracking capabilities even prevent the websites you visit from collecting your browsing information. It’s like a fresh start each time you search.
These qualities resulted in PC Mag rating DuckDuckGo “Best for Anonymity” in their review of the top search engines. DuckDuckGo users like that it reduces data bias and doesn’t record their IP addresses. And, conveniently, it works on desktop, laptop, and mobile devices.
DuckDuckGo is free to use, like most other browsers and search engines, because it makes its revenue through advertising and affiliate revenue. However, since the company doesn’t collect and store data about its users, the ads you see won’t be personalized to you based on your search history or browsing behavior.
Unlike Google, which collects data on its users and creates detailed records of many searches tied to individuals, DuckDuckGo doesn’t collect user search data and helps users block other websites from tracking them, too.
DuckDuckGo also works to keep its users secure with additional features like Safe Search and Global Privacy Control. Safe Search allows you to remove adult content from your results with two modes: strict and moderate. Global Privacy Control is on by default and signals a preference for privacy to the websites you visit.
It also offers a range of setting personalization options, including features that let users boost results from their region, display results in their chosen language, and change fonts and colors.
People who use DuckDuckGo usually do so because they value privacy and data protection. Others may be drawn to more anonymous web browsing because they’re in restrictive regions of the world. People looking to reduce their digital footprint might also prefer a secure browser to some of the more popular browsers on the market.
Comments from users on the r/privacy subreddit offer insights into why people use DuckDuckGo, with mentions of being tired of getting tracked online and fed up with manipulated search results.
One Reddit user said, “DuckDuckGo is pretty famous… Search results for me are as good as from Google, and they promised to not track users… So for me… I love using DDG, have it as my default search engine in my Safari.”
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In other words, a secure browser provides private browsing, while a VPN offers a private connection. When you connect to a VPN, data you send and receive is automatically encrypted and routed through a different IP address, keeping your legitimate IP address secret. You can use a private search engine with a VPN for a more secure browsing experience than is possible with either option alone.
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A common point of comparison between DuckDuckGo vs Google revolves around privacy. Generally speaking, DuckDuckGo offers better privacy because it blocks many third-party trackers, stops search leakage, and doesn’t store or track your search history.
In contrast, even using Google’s Incognito mode only stops your browsing history from being saved locally or to your Google Account (unless you sign in) — it doesn’t stop websites, your ISP, or advertisers from tracking your online activity.
You share your most intimate secrets with your search engine without even thinking: medical, financial and personal issues, along with all the day to day things that make you, well, you. All of that personal information should be private, but on Google it’s not.
— Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo CEO and co-founder
The types of web trackers blocked by DuckDuckGo include cookies and web beacons, which are often used by advertisers to profile users. Privacy-focused search engines or browsers are a legitimate solution to keep your search history hidden and stop companies from linking you to your searches.
DuckDuckGo helps you browse the web privately.
Search leakage occurs when search engines share your query with the sites you visit. DuckDuckGo is considered private because it doesn’t pass along this information. It enhances privacy by not passing along this information and upgrading connections to HTTPS where possible. This design helps protect your search data and enhances user privacy.
DuckDuckGo allows users to search nearly anonymously by not collecting data like IP addresses, cookies, or search history. Unlike many other private browsing options, such as Google Chrome’s Incognito mode, DuckDuckGo offers a reliable way to search without having your history tracked.
Unlike other search engines, you won’t see personalized ads based on your search history when using DuckDuckGo. It helps prevent personalized ads and popups by blocking companies from spying on your activities, although it may display non-personalized ads based on your current search query.
DuckDuckGo has some drawbacks including a potential risk of malware exposure, a lack of personalized search features, and past controversies regarding search-result quality. It’s not perfect for everyone, especially those seeking highly personalized results, so here are a few reasons why you might not want to use DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo is generally safe, but like any platform it isn’t completely immune to threats like malware. DuckDuckGo’s tracker blocker only covers well-known trackers, so it may not catch newer or unknown threats. It also might not actively filter out potentially harmful sites as aggressively as a private browser with built-in security features like Avast Secure Browser.
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In 2022, DuckDuckGo faced criticism due to its syndicated search content contract with Microsoft. It allowed some Microsoft sites to bypass its tracker-blocking features in its mobile browsers. This raised privacy concerns, with some questioning whether DuckDuckGo was legitimate for privacy-conscious users.
DuckDuckGo’s CEO responded by saying, “Unfortunately our Microsoft search syndication agreement prevents us from doing more to Microsoft-owned properties. However, we have been continually pushing and expect to be doing more soon.”
Since DuckDuckGo’s focus is on privacy and it doesn’t store your search history, search results aren’t tailored like on many competing engines such as Google, which predicts your search intent based on your past activity. This can result in DuckDuckGo’s search results being slightly less relevant to you than those that might be returned by a conventional search engine, like Google.
This also means the ads displayed on DuckDuckGo are generic and not personalized by your browsing history, which you may see as a positive or negative depending on your disposition.
Some of the pros of DuckDuckGo include its ability to block most trackers and its enhanced privacy. However, it lacks personalization when it comes to ads and search results, which some users may see as a detractor.
Enhanced privacy: It doesn’t track or store your personal data, search history, or IP address.
Blocks trackers: It blocks most third-party trackers, stopping advertisers and websites from profiling you and serving targeting ads.
Unbiased search results: Your search results aren’t influenced by your search history so are fresh every time.
Limited ecosystem: It doesn’t have a developed ecosystem of secondary services like Google does in the form of Gmail and Google Drive, which you may rely on.
Lack of personalization: It doesn’t offer personalized search results based on previous search history, which you may miss.
Potential risks: It doesn’t filter results as comprehensively as some other search engines and this could lead to you seeing more harmful sites or links.
As you can see, many of the pros and cons share similarities. So, what one user might consider a benefit, another might find a negative. You need to weigh up what your priorities are to decide which search engine is best for you.
You can access DuckDuckGo by visiting the website at duckduckgo.com. A mobile browser app is also available, which you can install via the DuckDuckGo website, Google Play Store, or the App Store.
To set it as your default search engine, go to your browser settings and select DuckDuckGo. There’s also a DuckDuckGo browser extension available for other popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, which includes tracker-blocking features.
If you’re looking for a private browser with extra security features, Avast Secure Browser is an excellent choice. While DuckDuckGo is a great search engine option, Avast’s specialized private browser includes anti-phishing and anti-malware technology to help keep you even safer online. When you’re looking for enhanced safety and privacy, you can’t go past Avast Secure Browser.
DuckDuckGo is a registered trademark of Duck Duck Go, Inc.
