What is DuckDuckGO? DuckDuckGo’s creator describes it as “the search engine that doesn’t track you”. They assure their users that they do not use cookies (cookies are bits of data that are saved under your IP to tailor advertisement according to your most visited websites) to follow users and claim they don’t collect any personal data on those who use it. This includes your IP address.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is focused on the privacy of the users. It provides the user with an option to search whatever they want with full anonymity. Users of the digital realm who are concerned about their online footprint consider this search engine the perfect solution to their problem.
It is true that we live in a surveilled state and that each online identity is tracked but with DuckDuckGo, you can easily reduce the noise created by your online persona while less of your private information is spread to the government or any corporation. Many are irked by the unsolicited advertisements that Chrome displays every five minutes.
DuckDuckGo promises zero advertisement due to its no-cookies policy. Since there aren’t cookies there to memorize your IP and private data about you then ads cannot be tailored to your liking. Once you have grasped the idea of this search engine then we can move onto the real question; Is DuckDuckGo a VPN?
To answer that question, you need to understand what VPNs are. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can offer you anonymity to an extent, by masking your computer’s IP address from everyone but the VPN provider. Now, that’s where certain users are hesitant. Since they want their IP entirely masked, this isn’t quite their cup of tea.
VPNs are promised to help us, however, they do hold sensitive information that we are avoiding to put out there. Effectively, VPNs create a tunnel for you to access information through another VPN. That way it seems that the fake IP you’ve just created through the VPN is accessing information, not you. However, it is still possible for your VPN provider to spy on you and record your online activity.
Is DuckDuckGo a VPN?
Keep in mind that DuckDuckGo is a search engine. It will not automatically create a virtual private network for you. It does not work as a VPN nor is it a substitute for a VPN. It might be quite easy to confuse them since they both promise to protect your anonymity and privacy. It’s a search engine that can be accessed using any device that is connected to the internet and has a browser.
On the other hand, a VPN is used to protect your mask your IP address, and your connection to the internet. Although, you can use DuckDuckGo with a VPN.
While it is not recommended to use DuckDuckGo with a VPN by the founder since DuckDuckGo is already promising to not trace your activity and employs a set of measures to ensure that no one can monetize off of your personal information. All search engines eventually allow you to use a VPN while browsing. In fact, many search engines have a VPN built in – though not yet for DuckDuckGo.
However, DuckDuckGo does give us the scoop on for most VPN providers claiming that they do not ensure 100 percent security along with the assurance that they do not sell private data. According to DuckDuckGo’s blog, TorGuard is the VPN of choice to use with their search engine.
Why is DuckDuckGo more preferred as compared to the renowned Google? Well, Google is known for its paid pop-ups that, quite frankly, invade the privacy of each individual. Google is the all-knowing search engine that even displays things and videos that are remotely related to the search that you happen to do. Here’s the thing, Google search is amazing.
We can all agree on that. It is one of the best inventions that made life easy for millions. It is the most common search engine. But, competitors will always try to match up to its quality. Personally, DuckDuckGo is one of the evident competitors. DuckDuckGo not only matches up to everything Google has to offer, it even comes with something that is basically the cherry on top. As discussed above, it provides users with full anonymity.
This aspect of search engines is something that has never been done before since that is how businesses create revenue. While ensuring that your private and personal data is completely protected and no one has the authority to abuse it. DuckDuckGo did what Google never could. Basically, they stopped the people in power from exploiting your personal information. On the other hand, Google creates revenue through the exploitation of your data.
It does not matter whether you’re incognito or not, Google saves your searches and suggests everything according to that. Now you may be thinking, who cares? It is just my data. Well, why shouldn’t you? How many people do you share your private information with? Anonymity should be important to all of us in this age of the monitored state. It is something so precious yet we are not careful with it.
VERDICT
Is DuckDuckGo a VPN? No. It is much better than that. It provides us with something that user in this digital realm has not tasted yet; complete anonymity. It does work with a VPN but should you use it with a VPN? That is entirely your decision. Is DuckDuckGo a better alternative to all search engines? Absolutely. It is truly a gift to us from someone who respects privacy. So in case you want anonymity, DuckDuckGo is what you need.
Just remember that many searchers will not be as data-driven as compared to Google so you might have to do a little investigation before you find the desired result. DuckDuckGo is a simple solution to a decades-old problem. It is the future.