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How does DuckDuckGo's privacy policy differ from Google's?
Executive summary
DuckDuckGo’s stated policy centers on not tracking or storing searches and not building profiles for advertising, while Google collects and retains search and location data to personalise services and ads — a distinction repeated across company pages and reviews [1] [2] [3]. Reviewers and privacy guides generally conclude DuckDuckGo is “more private” in practice because it avoids tying queries to a persistent user profile, but they also note trade‑offs in features and that third‑party sites or optional DuckDuckGo features may still involve some data [3] [4] [2].
1. How the companies describe what they collect — a contrast in plain language
DuckDuckGo’s public materials say the company “doesn’t track you or your searches,” doesn’t save or share search history, and therefore claims it cannot tie searches to you personally or build profiles for advertisers [2] [1]. By contrast, reporting about Google emphasises that Google logs search keywords, location and other usage data and uses that information to personalise ads and services — a practice reviewers cite as the core privacy difference between the two [3] [5].
2. What “not tracking” practically means for advertising
DuckDuckGo advertises that ads are based on the search terms you just entered rather than long‑term profiles about you; that model limits personalised targeting built from past searches and stored identifiers [6] [3]. Multiple reviews repeat that Google’s ad model relies on stored user data to deliver personalised ads, which DuckDuckGo’s model aims to avoid [7] [5].
3. Limits, exceptions and optional features you should watch
DuckDuckGo’s privacy stance has caveats: optional features (for example, Email Protection) require personal information and are governed by their specific policies, and the company warns that when you follow links to other sites those sites’ policies apply [1] [2]. Reviewers and security assessments also note that DuckDuckGo’s protections end when you visit third‑party sites and that independent researchers occasionally find vulnerabilities in DuckDuckGo products that could expose data — though the company has generally patched such issues quickly [8] [3].
4. Technical differences mentioned by experts and reviewers
Analysts highlight that DuckDuckGo tries to avoid logging queries and uses techniques such as returning approximate locations rather than precise ones; these choices are part of how it says it prevents user profiling [9]. Reviewers also point out that Google’s broader ecosystem and features (Maps, Gmail, YouTube, image reverse search, featured snippets) rely on integrated data, producing conveniences that come with more data collection [4] [9].
5. Real‑world trade‑offs: privacy versus features and accuracy
Several reviews underline a trade‑off: DuckDuckGo offers stronger default privacy for searches, but Google may provide more accurate image searches, richer featured snippets and ecosystem conveniences because it aggregates more signals about users and content [4] [7]. Security reviewers and guides recommend weighing whether you prefer reduced tracking or the specific search capabilities and integrations Google provides [9] [10].
6. Claims versus scrutiny — what the reporting agrees and where it diverges
Most of the sources agree that DuckDuckGo does not build long‑term user profiles from searches and markets itself on that promise [1] [2] [3]. At the same time, independent reviewers add nuance: DuckDuckGo “is more private” in typical scenarios but is not immune to occasional vulnerabilities or limits imposed by third parties and optional services [8] [3]. Available sources do not mention any legal findings that DuckDuckGo violated its policy; they do report instead on product limitations and the company’s stated practices [1] [8].
7. Practical advice for readers deciding between them
If your priority is to minimise search‑linked profiling and personalised ads, the reportage supports choosing DuckDuckGo or using it as your default search because it avoids storing searches and builds no persistent profiles [2] [3]. If you need advanced search features, tighter integration with services (Maps, Gmail, Drive) or the most accurate image and snippet results, the coverage suggests Google remains superior but coupled with greater data collection for personalisation [4] [5].
Limitations: this summary relies on company pages, product reviews and security roundups in the provided results; sources repeatedly cite DuckDuckGo’s self‑described policy and third‑party reviews that call it “more private,” and they document trade‑offs in features and scope [1] [2] [3].