DuckDuckGo vs Google Search: privacy compared
DuckDuckGo and Google Search are both rated in search engines against the same 12 public criteria. DuckDuckGo does better on open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, security headers, no search history logs, no profile-based ads and no account needed. Google Search does better on transparency report. DuckDuckGo is based in the United States (Five Eyes); Google Search is based in the United States (Five Eyes).
| Criterion | DuckDuckGo Our pick | Google Search |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade C C (73/100) | Grade F F (25/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | United States Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Partial source | No |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | Yes source | No source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Partial source | No source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | No | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | Partial source | Yes source |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | Yes source | Yes source |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Partial source | No source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| No search history logs Are searches stored without IP addresses or other identifiers? | Yes source | No source |
| No profile-based ads Are ads (if any) based only on the current search, not a profile? | Yes source | Partial source |
| No account needed Can every feature be used without an account? | Yes source | Partial source |
Summaries
DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo scores 73 out of 100 (grade C) on the search engines criteria. It meets 6 of 11 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, no search history logs, no profile-based ads and no account needed. It partly meets open source, no ads or data sales, transparency report and security headers. It does not meet independent audit. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B.
Google Search. Google Search scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the search engines criteria. It meets 2 of 11 criteria: transparency report and tells users about requests. It partly meets TLS configuration, no profile-based ads and no account needed. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, security headers and no search history logs. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade B and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade C.