DuckDuckGo

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DuckDuckGo

File:DuckDuckGologo.png

Basic Information
Release Year	2008-09-25
Product Type	Search Engine
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://duckduckgo.com/

DuckDuckGo, is an American software company focused on online privacy. It was founded in September 25, 2008, by Gabriel Weinberg. DuckDuckGo's flagship product is search engine of the same name. Additionally, DuckDuckGo also claims to offer features like encryption and tracker blocking to enhance online security.

Consumer impact summary

Freedom

Despite its reputation for privacy and freedom, DuckDuckGo has had controversies regarding removed/de-ranked content, raising concerns about the extent of its unrestricted search results.

Privacy

While its user privacy is significantly better than most other mainstream search engines, DuckDuckGo's browser has been involved in controversies in regards to discrimination in blocking trackers.

Business model

DuckDuckGo primarily generates revenue through keyword-based advertising. In addition to this, DuckDuckGo also earns income from subscription fees paid to access its Privacy Pro feature.

Market control

DuckDuckGo is a relatively niche search engine in comparison to behemoths in the space such as Google, and to a lesser degree, Bing. However, when compared to other privacy-focused search engines DuckDuckGo fares pretty well against competition.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the DuckDuckGo category.

Piracy Censorship (2022.04.15)

Main article: link to the main article

DuckDuckGo has completely removed the search results for numerous popular pirate websites, including The Pirate Bay, 1337x, and Fmovies.

Tracking Block Bias (2022.05.22)

Main article: link to the main article

DuckDuckGo's privacy browser allows Microsoft trackers on third-party websites due to a search syndication agreement with Microsoft. However, this changed in August when DuckDuckGo’s contract with Microsoft expired, and Microsoft’s tracking was also blocked.

Political Censorship (2025.01.03)

Main article: link to the main article

DuckDuckGo’s owner announced that the search engine would be de-ranking websites deemed to spread Russian misinformation.

See also

• Bing
• Brave
• Google
• Yandex