Our Story of Protection
Since 2008, we’ve expanded what we do to protect you no matter where you go on the Internet. Check out our story.
We’re about
dataprotection,
not data collection.
We're the independent, free browser that actively protects your personal information. Search, browse, and use AI privately, keeping your information to yourself and away from hackers, scammers, and privacy-invasive companies. Unlike others, all our AI features are optional.
Learn More About DuckDuckGo
Trusted for Over a Decade
Join the millions of people that choose DuckDuckGo over Chrome and other browsers.
3B
Monthly Searches
And Growing Fast
9M
Monthly Downloads
On Mobile & Desktop
4.8
Average Rating
On Apple & Google Play
335
Team Members
Making it Happen
Take control of your personal information.
The DuckDuckGo browser is designed for data protection, not data collection. Our browsing protections, such as ad tracker blocking and cookie blocking, help stop your data from being collected. And our built-in search engine never tracks your searches. Available on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.
Our Story of Protection
Since 2008, we’ve expanded what we do to protect you no matter where you go on the Internet. Check out our story.
1 of 31
We Hatched
DuckDuckGo began as an idea for a better search engine experience. We hatched out of a few servers in a dusty basement.
September 25, 2008
Launch!
Within the year, DuckDuckGo was announced to the Hacker News and reddit communities. We made it out with only minor troll scars.
September 25, 2008
Anonymous
We decided to make a bold move and not track your search history. Tracking is creepy.
March 15, 2010
The Billboard
We told the world “Google tracks you. We don’t.” with a billboard in their backyard. Hello, World!
January 11, 2011
Launched Charitable Donations Program
We rely on a lot of great projects to keep our wings flapping. So we started giving back to support new and innovative tech projects, strengthening our commitment to raising the standard of trust online.
February 26, 2011
Team Member #1
For years, our founder Gabriel was the only full-timer. Caine Tighe changed all that, coming on board as our first official team member.
November 30, 2011
Headquarters
We finally moved out of Gabriel’s basement into our fortress in Paoli, PA. It really looks like a castle!
December 1, 2011
Redesign
Our first major visual overhaul introduced a new design that made you not want to close your browser the second you saw our results page.
January 16, 2012
1 Billion Searches!
We reached the incredible milestone of 1 billion anonymous searches.
July 18, 2013
Team Member #10
The big guys have thousands more team members than us, and so everyone at DuckDuckGo is an essential member of the team. Welcome to our 10th team member!
March 17, 2014
Reimagined
DuckDuckGo launches a redesigned search engine with a refined look and a focus on smarter answers. And, of course, we still don’t track you.
May 19, 2014
Safari
Apple begins including DuckDuckGo in Safari, with the launch of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Wow, cool!
September 17, 2014
Firefox
Mozilla adds DuckDuckGo as a built-in search option to Firefox. Thank you! Do you think we’ll ever get into Chrome?
November 10, 2014
10 Billion Searches!
We concluded 2016 with over four billion anonymous searches served, surpassing a cumulative count of ten billion!
December 31, 2016
Privacy Beyond Search
We extended our privacy protection beyond the search box with the launch of our new mobile app & browser extension, available on all major platforms.
January 23, 2018
$1 Million Donation Milestone
We reached $1 million in donations to help support organizations that share our vision to raise the standard of trust online.
April 10, 2018
50 Billion Searches!
In the last two years, we've flown from 25 billion searches to a whopping 50 billion!
June 20, 2020
Team Member #100
The pond’s getting fuller! With our 100th team member joining the flock, we’re adding more quack to our team spirit.
July 1, 2020
100 Billion Searches!
Over the past one and a half years, we’ve doubled our all-time searches to 100 billion!
January 13, 2022
Privacy on Mac
We brought our browser experience to desktops and laptops with the launch of the DuckDuckGo Private Browser on Mac.
April 12, 2022
Email Protection
We launched Email Protection — our free email forwarding service that removes multiple types of hidden email trackers and lets you create private email addresses on the fly.
August 25, 2022
Privacy on Windows
We launched the DuckDuckGo Private Browser on Windows.
June 22, 2023
15th Anniversary!
We celebrated 15 years of DuckDuckGo, now offering comprehensive privacy protections used by tens of millions of people to protect their everyday online activities, from searching to browsing, emailing, and more.
September 25, 2023
Private Sync & Backup
We introduced the ability to privately and securely sync and backup bookmarks, passwords, and Email Protection settings between DuckDuckGo browsers on phones, tablets, and computers.
February 15, 2024
DuckDuckGo Subscription
We launched the DuckDuckGo subscription (formerly Privacy Pro) — our subscription service with VPN, Personal Information Removal, and Identity Theft Restoration!
April 11, 2024
Investments
We announced we're investing in privacy-respecting companies that are raising the standard of trust online.
October 23, 2024
$6M Mark in Charitable Donations
To date, we’ve donated a total of $6.9 million in donations, reflecting our ongoing dedication to supporting organizations and raising the standard of trust online.
December 3, 2024
Subscription + Duck.ai
We added a new benefit to the DuckDuckGo subscription — support for advanced AI models in Duck.ai.
August 27, 2025
$8M Mark in Charitable Donations
For our fifteenth year of donations, we donated $1.1M to benefit 29 organizations that share our vision of raising the standard of trust online.
September 30, 2025
From Our Blog
At SpreadPrivacy.com, we publish privacy education, tips, and original research, along with DuckDuckGo news.
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We're Hiring
DuckDuckGo is a remote company of passionate people from over 15 countries. Join our fully distributed team and help raise the standard of trust online — from anywhere!
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