DuckDuckGo Blog

The "Do Not Track" Setting Doesn't Stop You from Being Tracked

Most browsers have a "Do Not Track" setting which sends "a special signal to websites, analytics companies, ad networks, plug in providers, and other web services you encounter while browsing, to stop tracking your activity." Sounds good, right? Sadly, it’s not effective.

DuckDuckGo News

2018 in Review: A Breakout Year for DuckDuckGo and Internet Privacy

We’re honored to share that 2018 was DuckDuckGo’s best year yet 👏. From where we stand, it was a breakout year for online privacy, the likes of which we haven't seen since the surveillance revelations of 2013.

DuckDuckGo News

Ethical, by Design: How We Design With Your Privacy in Mind

At DuckDuckGo, ethical design is simply... "design." It's part of our mission to set a new standard of trust online, empowering people to take control of their info. All roles are focused on an ethical way forward and this is how we do it.

DuckDuckGo News

DuckDuckGo Taps Apple Maps to Power Private Search Results

We're excited to announce that map and address-related searches on DuckDuckGo for mobile and desktop are now powered by Apple's MapKit JS framework.

Privacy Research

Measuring the "Filter Bubble": How Google is influencing what you click

Does Google show you different search results based on your personal info, even when signed out and in so-called "incognito" mode? We ran a study to find out.

Privacy Research

Most Americans aren't aware that Facebook owns WhatsApp, or that Google owns Waze

As Facebook usage wanes, messaging apps like WhatsApp are growing in popularity as a "more private (and less confrontational) space to communicate." That shift didn't make much sense to us because both services are owned by the same company, so we tried to find an explanation.

DuckDuckGo News

DuckDuckGo Partners with OMERS Ventures to Expand Canadian Presence and Global Impact

Today, we're announcing a partnership with OMERS Ventures (OV), part of the $95 Billion global OMERS pension fund, based in Canada. Their expertise, shared interest in privacy, and investment in DuckDuckGo will help us continue expanding our privacy protections across the globe.

Opinion

Three Reasons Why the "Nothing to Hide" Argument is Flawed

As Internet privacy has become more mainstream, this argument is rightfully fading away. However, it’s still floating around and so we wanted to take a moment to explain three key reasons why it's flawed.

DuckDuckGo News

2018 DuckDuckGo Privacy Donations: $500,000 + $142,000 From You!

We're excited to share the results of the DuckDuckGo Privacy Challenge Crowdfunding Campaign!

Privacy Research

A Majority of Americans Don't Know That Facebook Owns Instagram

In a survey of random U.S. adults, we found approximately half of Americans do not know that Facebook owns Instragram or Google owns YouTube.

Privacy Research

What U.S. Adults Think About Facebook After Cambridge Analytica

Survey results from 1,153 U.S. adults on awareness of the Cambridge Analytica incident, what people think about it, and what they think should be done about it.

DuckDuckGo News

Default Private Search in Private Browsing Mode

DuckDuckGo and Vivaldi Partner on Private Browsing Mode. As regular readers of this blog will know, but sadly most people still do not, Private Browsing modes generally don’t prevent online tracking of

DuckDuckGo News

Join the $500,000 DuckDuckGo Privacy Challenge Crowdfunding Campaign

We're donating half a million dollars to non-profits that share in DuckDuckGo's vision of raising the standard of trust online, and we need your help!

Privacy Research

What Do Security Certificates Actually Do?

Together with encryption, security certificates are essential to securely send data over the internet. Here's how they work.

Privacy Research

What Does a Secure Web Connection Actually Do?

Many websites use "https://" at the beginning of their address rather than "http://". But what protection does that give you? How much of your surfing data is secure?

Opinion

Data Privacy Day 2018: Live Free of Facebook and Google Tracking

If you're going to make real progress in your data privacy this year, you must do something about your Google and Facebook use. Here's why and how.

DuckDuckGo News

Protecting Your Personal Data Has Never Been This Easy

We're excited to launch a new browser extension and mobile app, extending DuckDuckGo's protection beyond the search box to wherever the Internet takes you.

DuckDuckGo News

Making Private Browsing Mode More Private

We've worked with Brave to offer the ability to easily enable private search within their private tabs.

DuckDuckGo News

DuckDuckGo Grew 55% in 2017, Crossing 20 Million Private Searches a Day

As we start 2018, we're proud to look back on a banner year for DuckDuckGo with private searches up 55%.

Privacy Research

Privacy is Mainstream: 24% of Us Now Take Significant Actions to Protect Our Privacy

24% of the population currently cares deeply enough about their online privacy to take significant actions to try to protect it.

Crash Course

How to Check Whether Your Web Connection's Secure

Without a secure web connection, eavesdroppers can see what you're browsing. We show you how to make sure you're protected.

Crash Course

How to Be Even More Anonymous Online

To protect your privacy online, we explain how Tor offers better anonymity than a VPN.

Crash Course

How to Set Up Your Devices for Privacy Protection

The more we rely on our computers and phones, the more personal data passes through them. Here's how to find information to protect privacy on your devices.

Crash Course

How to Choose a Good VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) gives you some anonymity when browsing. Read these tips for choosing a provider.

Crash Course

How to Live Without Google

Google tracking is more pervasive than most people realize. We show you some alternatives to Google services to limit your exposure.