# How secure is DuckDuckGo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030 "2019-02-05T22:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/1 "2019-02-05T22:07:16Z")
The title says it all. When you use DuckDuckGo, is your personal information, including IP address, really not tracked either by them, or the sites you visit? Asking for a friend 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/2 "2019-02-05T22:09:21Z")
I can’t imagine they have any control of what the sites you visit track. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/3 "2019-02-05T22:10:42Z")
> **[DuckDuckGo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuckDuckGo)** > > DuckDuckGo (DDG) is an internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers' privacy and avoiding the filter bubble of personalized search results. DuckDuckGo does not show search results from content farms. It uses various APIs of other websites to show quick results to queries and for traditional links it uses the help of its partners (mainly Bing) and its own crawler. Because of its anonymity, it is impossible to know how many people use DuckDuckGo. > The company is based in Paoli, P... It’s the default search engine for the Tor browser. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/4 "2019-02-05T23:17:11Z")
I once went from DDG to some other site (can’t remember what it was, but possibly Google maps) and that page wouldn’t do whatever I wanted because it said I was anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/5 "2019-02-06T00:35:22Z")
The wiki page that **Omar Little** linked to specifically addresses IP and other personal information: > [@](#): > > DuckDuckGo positions itself as a search engine that puts privacy first and as such it does not store IP addresses, does not log user information, and uses cookies only when required. Weinberg states: “By default, DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information. That is our privacy policy in a nutshell.” However, they do maintain logs of all search terms used.[16] As **Grim Render** notes, they don’t have any control over what data the site you go to from one of their links does. Generally speaking, any site can log your IP, they can scan any cookies on your system, they can tell what link brought you to their site, and they can tell what browser you are using (which will often tell them what type of device you are using it on). Your IP also basically gives them your physical location, though it isn’t always all that accurate. IP locators tend to figure out where my home is located is within about 5 to 10 miles, but they often have my work location wrong by 40 or 50 miles. Private browsing mode (which many different browsers these days have) stops things from being logged on your computer/device, but does not in any way prevent the web site you go to from collecting IP and other information about you. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/6 "2019-02-06T02:14:16Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I once went from DDG to some other site (can’t remember what it was, but possibly Google maps) and that page wouldn’t do whatever I wanted because it said I was anonymous. Just remembered where it was: Youtube. Wouldn’t play a video. Worked fine if I came from Google. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/7 "2019-02-06T22:19:41Z")
If you really want security in your browsing, then you probably should download a Tor browser and use that. But expect to give up speed in exchange for security. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/8 "2019-02-06T23:00:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > If you really want security in your browsing, then you probably should download a Tor browser and use that. But expect to give up speed in exchange for security. Can you recommend one? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/9 "2019-02-06T23:12:13Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Can you recommend one? You get the one for the OS you’re using. > **[The Tor Project | Privacy & Freedom Online](https://www.torproject.org/download/)** > > Defend yourself against tracking and surveillance. Circumvent censorship. I prefer using a VPN. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/10 "2019-02-07T00:09:24Z")
I’m assuming one relevant feature of that Tor Browser is the built-in default blocking of various tracking scripts, independent of any VPN layer. I see a slider that starts at “Standard” and has increasingly paranoid settings, eventually blocking most or all JavaScript. If you just download and use regular Chrome or Firefox, those blockers are not installed by default. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/11 "2019-02-07T01:40:01Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > You get the one for the OS you’re using. > > [https://www.torproject.org/download/download.html](https://www.torproject.org/download/download.html) > > I prefer using a VPN. The caveats sound dire. But thanks. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/12 "2019-02-07T01:52:48Z")
^ I should have just linked to the browser. > **[The Tor Project | Privacy & Freedom Online](https://www.torproject.org/download/)** > > Defend yourself against tracking and surveillance. Circumvent censorship. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/13 "2019-02-07T22:42:43Z")
A bit of anecdotal “testimonial” I tried using a tor browser for both my phone and laptop. Both were based on firefox (torfox i believe). I’m a bit paranoid about privacy, but not THAT paranoid. Not a great experience, slow, extremely limited options on just about everything and omg slooooooooowwwww. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-secure-is-duckduckgo/829030/14 "2019-02-08T01:11:45Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > I prefer using a VPN. I love setting it so the “You are using an Ad Blocker” pop ups come up in German. DDG + VPN is a pretty good combo for confusing the trackers.