How long does DuckDuckGo retain any user data and can users request deletion?
Executive summary
DuckDuckGo’s default stance is minimal retention: most Personal Information Removal activity happens on the user’s device and DuckDuckGo says the only item it may receive in that process are confirmation emails from data brokers, which it automatically handles and deletes within 72 hours [1] [2]. Users have deletion options tied to specific contexts—they can unsubscribe or exercise privacy-rights under applicable laws for the limited personal information DuckDuckGo may hold, and the company points people to its Privacy Rights page and support channels for deletion requests [3] [4].
1. How DuckDuckGo limits what it holds: scans and removals run on the device
DuckDuckGo’s Personal Information Removal feature is built to run entirely from the user’s device rather than remote servers, with the app storing any setup personal info locally and initiating opt-out requests directly from that device so DuckDuckGo says it does not keep those setup details on its servers [5] [1].
2. What DuckDuckGo admits it may briefly receive and how long it keeps it
The only personal data DuckDuckGo acknowledges it may receive during the removal workflow are confirmation emails from data broker sites; the company says it automatically handles those and deletes them within 72 hours [1] [2].
3. Other limited retention areas: support, subscriptions and optional features
When users contact support or subscribe to the Privacy Pro service, DuckDuckGo uses third-party platforms—Zendesk for support—and notes that communications or subscription metadata may be stored there, with unsubscribe actions intended to delete associated subscription data; the privacy policy points users to the Privacy Rights page for deletion or copies of personal information [1] [3] [6].
4. What users can request deleted and how to do it
For the limited personal information DuckDuckGo may hold from optional features or direct contact, privacy laws in some jurisdictions give rights to request deletion or copies, and DuckDuckGo directs users to its Privacy Rights page; third-party coverage also reports DuckDuckGo provides an email (privacy@duckduckgo.com) for deletion requests [3] [4].
5. Practical limits and caveats to “deletion” promises
The Personal Information Removal product does not—and cannot—erase information from many places: social media, public-record databases, government records, news articles, voter or property records, image databases, or from brokers that refuse opt-outs, and DuckDuckGo warns that these categories are out of scope for its automated removals [7]. Additionally, because the main removal workflow is device-based, cancelling a subscription or removing the app can stop ongoing checks and let previously removed records reappear unless the user maintains the service on their device [1] [5].
6. How often DuckDuckGo checks for reappearances and timelines for removals
DuckDuckGo’s system scans supported data brokers on a regular schedule—advertised checks every ten days—to try to keep removed entries from reappearing [8], and individual opt-outs can clear in hours or take weeks depending on the broker’s process, according to DuckDuckGo’s engineering descriptions and reporting [9].
7. Alternate perspectives and implicit trade-offs
DuckDuckGo frames local-device processing as a privacy-preserving advantage but that design shifts the operational burden—and some risk—onto users’ devices; likewise, reliance on third-party services such as Zendesk for support creates a secondary retention vector that users must address via support and privacy-rights requests [5] [1] [3]. The company’s claims of not logging VPN activity underscore the broader policy that DuckDuckGo aims not to retain browsing/search histories, but those assurances are limited to what it explicitly says it collects and to the jurisdictions where legal privacy rights apply [9] [3].