Does DuckDuckGo collect or store IP addresses or other identifiers?
Executive summary
DuckDuckGo’s published privacy policy says it does not save IP addresses or “unique identifiers” alongside searches and that viewing search results is anonymous; it also acknowledges that devices send IP addresses when connecting and that IPs are used temporarily for delivery and security [1]. Independent commentators and guides consistently note DuckDuckGo doesn’t hide your IP from websites or your ISP and is not a VPN — your IP remains visible outside DuckDuckGo’s service [2] [3].
1. What DuckDuckGo publicly says: “We don’t save IPs with searches”
DuckDuckGo’s privacy policy states that while a device sends information such as IP address and browser type when it contacts their servers, the company “doesn’t save your IP address or any unique identifiers alongside your searches or visits to our websites,” and it treats viewing search results as anonymous; they also say some information is used temporarily for content delivery and security such as bot detection [1].
2. How reporters and guides interpret that wording: temporary use vs. long‑term storage
Privacy guides and how‑to sites emphasize the distinction DuckDuckGo makes between transient use of connection data and long‑term storage tied to queries. VPN and privacy commentators repeatedly point out DuckDuckGo blocks trackers and doesn’t log searches in a personalized way, but it does not mask your IP address — it merely avoids storing it linked to user searches [2] [3].
3. Practical consequences: websites and ISPs still see your IP
Multiple sources stress the practical limit: even if DuckDuckGo does not retain your IP with search records, the websites you visit after a search and your internet service provider still see your real IP address. DuckDuckGo is not a VPN and does not encrypt or route all your traffic through a different IP — its protection generally ends at the browser or search engine itself [2] [3].
4. Conflicting claims in secondary articles — check the primary policy
Some blogs and posts assert more strongly that “DuckDuckGo does not log or store IP addresses” as an absolute statement [4] [5]. Those claims align with DuckDuckGo’s policy language about not saving IPs alongside search records, but they can gloss over the nuance that IPs are still visible during connections and used temporarily for delivery/security [1]. For an authoritative reading, rely on DuckDuckGo’s own privacy page rather than secondary summaries [1].
5. Technical signals and infrastructure: domain IPs and crawlers
Tools that map domain addresses show DuckDuckGo’s site resolving to IP addresses and underlying hosting ranges [6] [7] [8]. Additionally, DuckDuckGo publishes infrastructure-level data for legitimate purposes — for example, exposing crawler IP ranges so operators can safelist DuckDuckGo bots — which is normal for any large web service and does not imply personal‑data logging [9].
6. What DuckDuckGo’s approach does and doesn’t protect against
DuckDuckGo’s model reduces profile-building by not linking search queries to unique identifiers, blocks many third‑party trackers, and stores anonymized query data to improve search indexes [1]. What it does not do: hide your IP from visited websites or your ISP, provide system‑wide encryption and IP masking like a VPN, or change lower‑level network metadata — for those needs, privacy guides recommend using a VPN or proxy in addition to DuckDuckGo [2] [3].
7. How to reconcile different recommendations when choosing tools
If your priority is reducing profiling by search providers and blocking web trackers, DuckDuckGo’s policy and features address that by avoiding storing IPs with searches and by tracker blocking [1] [2]. If your priority is concealing your IP address or preventing your ISP or destination sites from seeing your real IP, DuckDuckGo alone is insufficient — commentators explicitly recommend combining DuckDuckGo with a VPN or proxy for IP masking [2] [3].
Limitations and final note: all factual assertions here cite the provided material; available sources do not mention internal retention practices beyond the privacy policy’s public language or any government‑requested disclosure examples, and they do not present independent forensic audits proving the absence of any short‑term logs beyond DuckDuckGo’s statements [1].