Has DuckDuckGo ever partnered with or sued Google over privacy or competition?
Executive summary
DuckDuckGo has not partnered with Google on search or advertising and has repeatedly positioned itself as an independent, privacy-focused rival; DuckDuckGo’s help pages say “no relationship with Google” [1] and the company states it has never been owned by Google [2]. DuckDuckGo has not sued Google directly in the reporting provided, but its CEO has been a witness and complainant in government antitrust actions against Google, testifying that Google’s multibillion‑dollar default deals with phone makers and Apple blocked competition [3] [4].
1. DuckDuckGo says it’s independent — not a Google partner
DuckDuckGo’s own documentation and public help pages explicitly deny any relationship with Google: the company writes that it has “no relationship with Google” and does not rely on Google results [1], and the help section states DuckDuckGo has never been owned by Google or any other entity [2]. Independent directories of partners list Bing Ads and a handful of technology partners for DuckDuckGo rather than Google [5] [6].
2. No public record here of DuckDuckGo suing Google
Available sources do not report that DuckDuckGo has filed a direct lawsuit against Google. Instead, DuckDuckGo’s CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, has appeared as a witness and provided evidence to government antitrust cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and states alleging Google’s exclusionary default contracts harmed rivals [7] [3] [4].
3. DuckDuckGo’s role in the DOJ and state antitrust campaign
DuckDuckGo supplied testimony and information that government plaintiffs used in their case. Weinberg testified that Google’s payments to be the default search engine on phones and browsers made it “hard” for DuckDuckGo to compete and that Apple’s reluctance to displace Google was driven by Google’s multibillion‑dollar payments [7] [3] [4]. Court filings released in the DOJ case revealed business details about DuckDuckGo — including its size and ad arrangements — used to demonstrate the competitive effects [6].
4. What DuckDuckGo wanted from platform partners (and Apple specifically)
Court testimony indicates DuckDuckGo at one point negotiated with Apple to be offered as a default option in private browsing and even saw revenue‑share projections that could have dramatically increased its market share, but those talks failed because Apple was reluctant to give up Google’s payments [8] [3]. DuckDuckGo portrayed the default setting as the primary barrier to switching and urged simpler “one‑click” switching mechanisms [4] [9].
5. Competing perspectives in the record
Government plaintiffs used DuckDuckGo’s evidence to argue Google’s default contracts exclude rivals; Google has denied illegal conduct in the antitrust cases — the sources record the dispute but also show courts and commentators differ on remedies and the impact of tech trends like AI on the litigation [10] [11]. DuckDuckGo’s CEO later criticized some judicial remedies as inadequate, reflecting disagreement about whether proposed fixes will restore competitive parity [12] [13].
6. DuckDuckGo’s ad and results sources — ties to Microsoft, not Google
Public filings and reporting show DuckDuckGo’s operating revenue comes largely from search ads provided by Microsoft in the U.S., and court documents noted DuckDuckGo’s small market share (roughly 2.5% of U.S. general search queries in one disclosure) — details that explain why DuckDuckGo has been a witness rather than a primary litigant [6].
7. Limitations and what’s not in the reporting
Available sources do not mention a DuckDuckGo‑initiated lawsuit directly against Google; they also do not document any formal partnership between the two firms on search or ad supply [1] [6]. Sources do report DuckDuckGo’s own partnerships with apps and browsers and its openness to more partnerships generally, but not with Google [14].
8. Bottom line: adversary in courtrooms, not a corporate partner or plaintiff here
The record shows DuckDuckGo has actively opposed Google’s practices through testimony and cooperation with antitrust enforcers and has publicly criticized Google’s market power and default deals [7] [4], while simultaneously maintaining formal independence from Google’s products and ad programs [1] [2]. There is no cited reporting here that DuckDuckGo ever entered into a partnership with Google or that it sued Google directly (available sources do not mention a DuckDuckGo lawsuit against Google).