What does DuckDuckGo's privacy policy say about search data retention and storage?

1. What DuckDuckGo’s own policy says — “we don’t profile or retain”

DuckDuckGo’s privacy page explains the company’s founding mission as a privacy-first alternative to bigger engines and says visiting its search engine will involve your device sending technical details (IP address, browser type, language) but frames the product as preventing trackers and avoiding profiling ^[1]. Multiple summaries of DuckDuckGo’s policy — and the policy language cited by third‑party writeups — characterize it as promising not to retain information that would create searchable user profiles and treating searches as isolated events ^{[1] [2]}.

2. How journalists and reviewers summarize retention and storage

Privacy reviewers and tech writeups consistently repeat that DuckDuckGo “does not retain any information” on its search engine or that it “doesn’t store personal info, search history, or IP address” ^{[2] [5]}. Norton’s consumer blog and PrivacyJournal’s review both state DuckDuckGo avoids collecting personal data and deletes information when no longer needed, framing that as protective in the event of a breach ^{[3] [2]}.

3. What “doesn’t retain” and “minimal retention” can mean in practice

Reporting notes two practical details: first, DuckDuckGo’s site will see device-sent technical info (IP, browser, language, screen size when requested) during a visit — that’s how web services work — even as the company asserts it does not use those to build profiles ^[1]. Second, outside analyses describe DuckDuckGo’s approach as “minimal data retention” or immediate deletion of any data only temporarily used to provide services ^{[4] [2]}. Available sources do not publish the exact technical deletion windows or every internal logging practice; the policy language summarized in reviews is public but granular retention timelines are not found in current reporting ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Where ambiguity and differing framings appear

Different outlets phrase DuckDuckGo’s guarantees differently: Surfshark and Norton assert “no personal data collection” and “doesn’t store your IP or search history,” while PrivacyJournal stresses the legal force of the public privacy policy and states DuckDuckGo “does not retain any information” on its search engine or browser ^{[5] [3] [2]}. These statements converge on the main point — limited or no long‑term storage of identifiable search data — but exact technical implementations and whether any ephemeral logs exist are described variably across sources ^{[5] [2] [3]}.

5. Third‑party dependencies and what happens when you click away

Reviewers note a practical limitation: when you leave DuckDuckGo to visit another site, that destination can see a referring URL and use trackers or cookies to follow your activity — DuckDuckGo’s privacy protections do not extend to other sites you visit ^[5]. DuckDuckGo also relies on third‑party services for features (for example mapping), which reviewers highlight as an area requiring scrutiny even if DuckDuckGo itself avoids profiling ^[2].

6. What independent coverage says about breaches and safety

Consumer security writeups argue that because DuckDuckGo “doesn’t store personal info or search history,” a data breach would be less damaging than breaches at companies that retain identifiable profiles; Norton reported no major public hacks involving DuckDuckGo user data as of mid‑2025 ^[3]. That assessment assumes the company’s stated retention practices are accurate — available sources do not include independent forensic audits proving complete absence of retained identifiable logs ^{[3] [2]}.

7. Takeaway for users deciding whether DuckDuckGo’s promises meet their needs

If your priority is a search engine that publicly promises not to build long‑term, identifiable search profiles, DuckDuckGo’s policy and multiple reviews align on that point ^{[1] [2]}. If you need absolute technical proof of zero ephemeral logging or precise deletion timeframes, current public reporting and summaries do not provide those internal technical specifics ^{[1] [2]}. Also remember privacy ends at the destination site: clicking results can expose you to trackers outside DuckDuckGo’s control ^[5].

Sources cited above include DuckDuckGo’s privacy page and multiple independent reviews summarizing its policy ^{[1] [2] [3] [5] [4]}.