Many web browser companies offer VPNs these days, including Google, Mozilla and Opera. DuckDuckGo is the latest to join the fray Privacy Pro a three-service plan. Along with a VPN, you’ll get personal data removal and identity theft recovery services for $10 a month or $100 a year. The subscription is currently only available in the US. Privacy Pro features are installed directly DuckDuckGo browser, so you won’t need to install separate programs.
DuckDuckGo says it will not store VPN logs to protect user privacy. As such, he says, “there’s no way to associate what you see when you’re connected to DuckDuckGo VPN to you as an individual or to anything you do on DuckDuckGo, like search.” DuckDuckGo uses the open source WireGuard protocol to encrypt and route your traffic through VPN servers. By the way, the company has VPN servers in the US, Europe and Canada. Plans to add more over time.
One subscription will cover up to five desktop and mobile devices. Instead of using an account, you will have a random ID that you need to keep safe. If you want, you can add an email address for easier authorization between devices. However, you won’t need to hand over any personally identifiable information to DuckDuckGo — the company uses Stripe, Google Play, and the Apple App Store to handle payments.
DuckDuckGo’s focus on protecting user privacy extends to a personal data removal tool that removes details like your full name, home address and birthday from people search sites and data broker services. The details you provide during the installation process remain on your device, and requests to remove your personal data are initiated directly from your desktop (you currently need a Windows or Mac computer to install and run the personal data removal tool).
DuckDuckGo says it’s a first for a standalone service because your data isn’t stored on remote servers. To help build the tool, DuckDuckGo purchased a data scraping service in 2022.
As for its identity theft recovery service, if your identity is stolen, DuckDuckGo will connect you with an advisor from its partner, Iris. A counselor will help you recover any stolen accounts and financial losses, as well as repair your credit report. In addition, they can help you cancel and replace important documents such as your driver’s license, bank cards and passport. If you’re away from home and stuck for identity theft, Iris can also give you a cash advance.
Again, you won’t have to provide your personal information in advance. If you need help after having your identity stolen, you only need to provide these details to an advisor.
Extending privacy protection through these services is a logical way to increase DuckDuckGo’s results. Privacy Pro also seems reasonably priced compared to some of the alternatives — not least Mozilla’s privacy-deletion service it costs $9 per month.
