How does DuckDuckGo handle IP addresses and timestamps?

1. How DuckDuckGo sees IP addresses when a user connects

When a user’s browser talks to DuckDuckGo, that request includes standard connection metadata such as IP address, browser type and language; DuckDuckGo acknowledges receiving this automatically and says it uses the information to deliver content and to ensure requests are not malicious bots ^{[1] [4]}. For local results the service performs a GEO::IP lookup using the IP address to guess an approximate location, then says it throws away the IP address and does not save it on servers tied to searches ^[2].

2. What DuckDuckGo says it does — the “we don’t keep IPs” claim

DuckDuckGo’s privacy policy and multiple guides emphasize that viewing search results is anonymous and that they “don’t save your IP address or any unique identifiers alongside your searches or visits to our websites,” framing any device-supplied metadata as transient and used only to deliver service and security checks ^{[1] [3]}. Independent explainers and reviews repeat this conclusion, describing DuckDuckGo as a search engine that doesn’t log IPs or build search histories linked to users ^{[5] [4]}.

3. Limits, caveats and what third parties note

Outside observers and guides point out an important caveat: DuckDuckGo cannot, by itself, hide the IP address from other actors on the internet such as visited websites or an ISP, so “not logging” an IP in DuckDuckGo’s systems is not the same as universal invisibility of that address ^[6]. Also, some consumer-facing writeups frame the company’s model as keeping only aggregated or anonymous query data to improve results, which preserves utility without tying searches to unique identifiers — a functional distinction with privacy implications ^{[3] [7]}.

4. What the reporting says about timestamps (and where the record is thin)

DuckDuckGo explicitly states it saves “anonymous search queries — completely disconnected from any unique identifiers like IP addresses — to improve our search indexes,” which confirms storage of query content for trend analysis but does not, in the sources provided, specify whether timestamps accompany those anonymized records or how granular any stored time metadata might be ^{[1] [3]}. One tech explainer warns that timestamps combined with computer information can deanonymize searches in other search-provider contexts, but that article frames the risk broadly and does not document DuckDuckGo’s internal timestamp practices ^[8]. Therefore, while DuckDuckGo asserts queries are made anonymous and disconnected from IPs, the supplied materials do not clearly disclose whether timestamps are retained with those anonymized queries or how long any temporal metadata is kept.

5. Related product nuance and data flows (Duck.ai and model calls)

When DuckDuckGo acts as an intermediary for services such as Duck.ai, the company says it strips personal metadata like IP addresses before sending prompts to underlying model providers and maintains contractual limits on how those providers may use received data, further indicating a policy of removing direct identifiers before onward sharing ^[9]. That operational claim reinforces DuckDuckGo’s broader posture of minimizing identifier exposure, though it is an assertion about process and depends on contractual and technical enforcement.

6. Bottom line and open questions

The reporting supports a clear bottom line: DuckDuckGo receives IP addresses on connection, uses them transiently for delivery, security and basic geolocation, and publicly commits not to save IPs or link them to searches, instead retaining only anonymized query data for indexing ^{[1] [2] [3]}. However, gaps remain in the publicly cited materials about whether anonymized query records include timestamps, the granularity and retention period of any temporal metadata, and the technical safeguards used to prevent re-identification; those specifics are not covered in the provided sources and therefore cannot be affirmed or refuted here ^{[1] [3] [8]}.