Does DuckDuckGo save my search history on its servers?

1. What DuckDuckGo officially promises: no tracking, no stored search profiles

DuckDuckGo’s own About page frames the product as “designed for data protection, not data collection” and says its built‑in search engine “never tracks your searches,” a claim reiterated directly—“we decided to make a bold move and not track your search history” ^[1]. Privacy‑focused reviews and overviews echo that pledge: the engine “does not record your search history” and does not build profiles for targeted advertising, instead showing ads based on the keywords in your current query ^{[5] [4]}.

2. Independent explainers and guides repeat the same bottom line

Several consumer guides and how‑to pages state plainly that DuckDuckGo “does not store your search history” and “doesn’t retain or store search history” ^{[2] [3]}. Tech writeups comparing DuckDuckGo to Google point out a key operational difference: Google collects and associates searches to users to personalize results and ads, while DuckDuckGo emphasizes no tracking and no search logs tied to individuals ^{[4] [5]}.

3. What “no tracking” typically means in practice — context from the sources

Sources explain DuckDuckGo’s model as avoiding the creation of persistent, identifiable search profiles: it “doesn’t store search history or associate searches with individuals” and bases ads on the immediate query rather than long‑term user profiles ^{[6] [5]}. The company also highlights browser protections like ad tracker and cookie blocking to reduce third‑party data collection alongside its search promise ^[1]. These descriptions indicate a design choice to limit server‑side retention of per‑user search records ^{[1] [5]}.

4. Where nuance matters: local device history and features that look like history

Several guides note that while DuckDuckGo the search engine doesn’t keep search histories, your own browser can still store pages you visit—so you might see “history” on your device even though DuckDuckGo’s servers did not record it ^{[2] [4]}. Some DuckDuckGo app/browser features (like local autocomplete or saved settings) can present a user‑visible history or let you clear browsing data locally; these features are distinct from server‑side logging ^{[7] [4]}.

5. Claims repeated across years and outlets — corroboration but also repetition

Statistics and industry pieces emphasize DuckDuckGo’s “core promise: no tracking,” and multiple sources from 2024–2025 restate that it “doesn’t store search history” ^{[8] [6] [9]}. That broad agreement across company materials, reviews and explainers provides convergent claims about policy, though it is mostly restatement rather than forensic proof of server practices ^{[8] [6]}.

6. Limits of the available reporting and what the sources don’t say

The provided sources consistently assert DuckDuckGo’s policy and business model but do not include independent technical audits, server logs, or legal subpoenas that would conclusively prove what is never retained under all circumstances. Available sources do not mention detailed retention windows, how ephemeral telemetry might be handled, or whether any server‑side metadata could be stored in limited cases (not found in current reporting). The sources also do not present any counterevidence—no reporting here shows DuckDuckGo storing identifiable, long‑term user search logs ^{[2] [1] [5]}.

7. How to interpret this if privacy is critical to you

If your priority is avoiding long‑term searchable profiles on a search provider, the consistent message from DuckDuckGo and multiple independent explainers is that DuckDuckGo’s model avoids storing search history or associating searches with individuals ^{[1] [2] [5]}. If you also want to prevent local device traces or third‑party tracking, the sources advise that browser history, cookies and external trackers remain separate concerns and should be managed locally or with additional tools ^{[2] [4]}.

8. Final verdict from the reporting: company pledge backed by broad media repetition

Every source provided repeats the same clear position: DuckDuckGo does not store user search history or build profiles tied to identifiable users, and it bases ads on immediate query keywords rather than stored histories ^{[1] [5] [4]}. That stance is well attested in these materials, but the sources do not include independent technical validation or disclosures about every conceivable telemetry exception (not found in current reporting).