How to disable or clear autocomplete and search suggestions in DuckDuckGo browser extensions?
Executive summary
Disabling DuckDuckGo autocomplete and search suggestions can be done from DuckDuckGo’s settings on desktop and mobile, and by clearing or removing browser-stored suggestions that originate in the browser itself rather than the search engine [1][2]. For newer “AI” or AI-enhanced suggestion layers there are separate toggles and deeper cache steps reported by third‑party guides; some users have also reported the feature re-enabling after extension updates, so verification after changes is advised [3][4].
1. How to turn off basic autocomplete in DuckDuckGo (quick method)
The straightforward toggle lives on DuckDuckGo’s settings page: visit https://duckduckgo.com/settings and switch off “Autocomplete Suggestions” (this applies to duckduckgo.com searches) or, on mobile, go to Settings → Private Search and turn off “Autocomplete Suggestions” and/or “Recently Visited Sites” in the DuckDuckGo app [1].
2. Account-level and AI-specific toggles for extensions and apps
If using DuckDuckGo while signed into an account or using the official extension/app, there may be a separate “Show AI-powered search suggestions” (or “AI Suggestions”) setting under Search Experience or Search Settings that must be toggled off to disable the generative/context-aware layer; doing so should cause suggestions to fall back to the legacy, non‑AI autocomplete [4][3].
3. When suggestions come from the browser (how to clear individual items)
Not all suggestions originate from DuckDuckGo—some are saved by the browser itself. To remove single suggestions in many browsers, start typing, highlight the unwanted suggestion with the arrow keys, and press Shift+Delete (or Delete on some platforms) to remove it from local autofill storage [2].
4. Dealing with the AI/local model layer and residual caches
Third‑party reporting suggests DuckDuckGo’s newer AI-enhanced suggestions can run locally or contact api.duckduckgo.com/v1/ai-suggest; guides recommend toggling the AI Suggestions setting off in the app and, on desktop, clearing cache entries (Developer Tools → Application → Storage → Cache Storage) that reference ai-suggest, tinyllm, or ddg-ml to force a clean restart of suggestion logic [3]. Those steps are drawn from investigative how‑tos rather than DuckDuckGo’s official support documentation, so they should be treated as advanced troubleshooting [3].
5. Browser quirks, extension updates, and verification
Community reports show that turning off DuckDuckGo’s on‑site setting usually works, but some users have reported the feature persisting or reappearing after updates or because of browser-level behaviors; restarting the browser after changing settings is a commonly recommended follow-up, and users sometimes need to confirm the setting remains off after extension auto‑updates [5][3].
6. Practical checklist and limits of available reporting
A practical sequence based on available sources is: toggle off Autocomplete/AI Suggestions in DuckDuckGo settings or app [1][4]; restart the browser or app [5]; remove browser-stored suggestions via Shift+Delete for individual items [2]; if AI suggestions persist, consider clearing relevant cache entries in Developer Tools as an advanced step [3]. The reporting used here combines DuckDuckGo’s help pages, community forum answers, and third‑party guides; where claims go beyond official documentation—particularly the cache‑deletion and local model details—those are sourced to third‑party investigations and should be tested cautiously [3][5].