Is DuckDuckGo Safe? I Tested Its Privacy Claims

Last updated on November 20th, 2025 at 01:56 pm

See, I have been listening to the hype of DuckDuckGo many years. It is said to be the privacy-first search engine, one that does not spy on you as Google does. This however is the point I am skeptical.

Therefore, I used two weeks to find out whether DuckDuckGo is now privacy-promising or not. Here’s what I found.

What I Tested (And How)

Firstly, I had installed the browser extension of DuckDuckGo and initiated using it as my default search engine. Then I got technical. I monitored what was being reported and examined my browser network usage and contrasted it with Google.

It struck me with the difference. The results of my search included my search terms in all the search result pages, in URLs, in referrers, in analytics applications. With DuckDuckGo? Those were the search terms that vanished as soon as I have opened a site.

The Features of Privacy That Work.

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that blocks loaded trackers of the third parties. I tried this on a few of the most infamously tracker-intensive websites- you know these types of websites that track you wherever you go. The extension demonstrated me precisely what it blocked Facebook Trackers, Google Analytics, and ad networks I have never heard of.

My most favorite tool was the Privacy Grade feature. It judges each of the websites, on a rating scale of A through F, regarding the tracking initiatives. I visited sites that I visit on a daily basis and frankly? The vast majority received a D or F and then DuckDuckGo intervened. A good number were blocked and then jumped to B or A.

This is what impressed me the most: the Fire Button. A single tap will delete your latest browsing history. No searching through options, no confirmations. Just gone.

What DuckDuckGo fails to secure you.

Here, however, is where testing me by my discoveries showed the limitations–and they are very great.

Your keywords are still in your Internet browsers address box. Any person, having the access to you machine can view your search history. I tried it, though, with something embarrassing (in science), and just look, it is right there in my browser history.

DuckDuckGo is not concealing your IP. Webbing sites that I shopped were still able to tell my general location. I verified this with IP checker tools- all the sites I visited were aware of the fact that I was browsing in my city.

The bigger issue? The internet service provider still has access to everything. I did some tests with packet capturing and whereas DuckDuckGo uses HTTPS encryption, my ISP can also very well know what sites I am accessing and when.

Another gap is browser fingerprinting. Cutting edge tracking systems that can know who you are by the detail of your screen resolution, fonts you have installed and browser settings? DuckDuckGo has no means to block each of them.

Microsoft Tracker Controversy.

I, too, read that 2022 scandal in which the researchers found that DuckDuckGo had enables Microsoft trackers to go through. It is DuckDuckGo blocks the trackers of Google and Facebook but leave some of the Microsoft advertising requests pass on third-party websites.

They have been open with regards to this kind of syndication deal but still, this is one privacy backdoor that must be known about.

My Honest Take

Two weeks later, I am able to draw a conclusion, and I want to state that DuckDuckGo is much safer to use than Google in terms of privacy in searches. It actually does not follow you or create a profile of you. The tracker blocking is functioning, and Privacy Grade tool is not eventually useless.

However, it is not an end-all and be-all in privacy. At the network level (you are still exposed to your ISP, who can see everything), at the device level (search terms in your URL history) and by using sophisticated methods of fingerprinting.

You will enjoy actual privacy enhancement in case you are leaving Google. The only thing is that you should not hope to be invisible. To do that, you will have to use DuckDuckGo along with a VPN and perhaps Tor.

FAQs

Does DuckDuckGo actually hide my searches from my internet provider?

No. Your ISP can monitor your visit and search history, although (DuckDuckGo) does not track your own searches. They will not witness what you were actually searching for, but they will witness you being affiliated with DuckDuckGo and then going to some websites.

In case, ISP tracking matters to you, you will have to have VPN on top of DuckDuckGo.

Can websites I visit see what I searched for on DuckDuckGo?

No, and this is one aspect, which works well indeed. DuckDuckGo anonymised your clicks to websites, which means they do not even know what you have searched.

I checked referrer headers to confirm this, i.e. websites were not aware of what I searched before joining them. Nevertheless, they are allowed to read your IP address and the information on the device.

Is DuckDuckGo completely anonymous?

Not even close. DuckDuckGo goes through with keeping your search history private, though you are not anonymous. The iP addresses and location are visible to websites. Your network provider traces your activity. Any person that has access to your device can look at your browsing history.

And even sophisticated transferring of print can profile you through sessions. Consider DuckDuckGo as privacy enhanced, and not privacy optimal.

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