Does DuckDuckGo store search queries server-side and how are IP addresses treated?
Executive summary
DuckDuckGo says it does not save search histories or tie queries to personal identifiers and explicitly states it “throws away” IP addresses after using them for GEO::IP lookups to provide localized results [1] [2]. Independent coverage and privacy reviews echo that DuckDuckGo does not retain searches or build user profiles, but note caveats about local device storage and occasional browser issues in older releases [3] [4].
1. What DuckDuckGo’s policy says: “We don’t save IPs”
DuckDuckGo’s help pages explain the mechanics: when you perform a search the IP address is used to guess your location via a GEO::IP lookup and then the company discards the IP address; per their privacy policy they say they “don’t save your IP address on our servers” and cannot create histories tied to you [1] [2]. DuckDuckGo also describes using anonymous cookies and local browser storage only for non-identifying settings and experiments, not to build search histories [2].
2. Industry and reviews largely confirm the claim — with limits
Multiple reviews and privacy explainers restate DuckDuckGo’s core promise: queries aren’t tied to personal identifiers and no persistent search history is stored on DuckDuckGo’s servers [3] [5]. These sources conclude that DuckDuckGo reduces profiling compared with mainstream engines but emphasize that “not saving” on the server side does not eliminate all privacy risks [3] [5].
3. Practical caveats: local storage and browser issues
Independent reporting highlights that privacy guarantees can be undermined at the device level: older desktop browser versions reportedly stored search-related data in local storage until early 2025, leaving traces on the operating system [4]. DuckDuckGo’s own policy also acknowledges using local storage and anonymous cookies for settings and experiments, and says those are not linked to identities [2] [4].
4. Network-level visibility: ISP and destination sites still see traffic
Even if DuckDuckGo discards IPs server-side, your ISP and the websites you click to can see your connection and may infer activity. Guides note that HTTPS protects query contents in transit but your ISP can still see that you’re using DuckDuckGo and the sites you visit afterward; external sites may receive referring URLs and track you with their own methods [6] [4]. Available sources do not mention whether DuckDuckGo retains raw server logs for short-term debugging or how long, beyond the public statements cited.
5. Location handling: how local results can be provided without retaining IPs
DuckDuckGo explains a specific flow for localized search: they derive an approximate location from the IP address, then “throw away the IP address”; they also store a randomized nearby location locally on the device so subsequent local searches can use a privacy-preserving proxy rather than your exact location [1]. This is an explicit mechanism to deliver local results while minimizing server-side retention [1].
6. Observability of DuckDuckGo’s infrastructure — IP addresses and hosting
Public DNS and IP lookups show DuckDuckGo uses multiple IP addresses and content-delivery/hosting infrastructure; various network lookup services list DuckDuckGo-associated IPs and PoPs, and independent IP records indicate the site is reachable via addresses in cloud/CDN blocks [7] [8] [9]. These infrastructure data points do not, by themselves, contradict DuckDuckGo’s privacy-policy claims about not storing queries or IPs, but they show the search front-end runs on distributed hosts [7] [8].
7. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas
Privacy advocates and DuckDuckGo-promoting outlets emphasize server-side non-retention and lack of profiling as a strong improvement over Google [3] [5]. Critics and deeper technical writeups warn that local storage, misconfigured HTTPS in some past mobile scenarios, and reliance on external sites for results can reduce privacy in practice — and those critiques surfaced in reporting about older client bugs and dropped HTTPS under certain network/VPN conditions [4]. Some commercial sites comparing search engines have an interest in simplifying messages (“does not record your search queries”) that can overstate protection unless device and network limitations are acknowledged [6] [10].
8. Bottom line and what the sources do and don’t say
Available sources consistently state DuckDuckGo’s official position: it does not retain search histories or save IP addresses on its servers and uses ephemeral GEO::IP lookups for localization, then discards the IP [1] [2]. Independent reviews generally corroborate that claim while documenting device-level caveats and past browser bugs that could expose data locally or in transit under specific conditions [3] [4]. Available sources do not mention internal log-retention windows or technical audit results proving the absence of any transient server-side logs beyond the company’s public statements; those specifics are not found in current reporting.