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Security report for duckduckgo.com

DuckDuckGo · Technology · United States

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

85/100

Risk levelLow

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

DuckDuckGo is a well-established privacy-focused technology company founded in 2008, offering a private search engine and privacy-centric browser products across multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. The company positions itself as a leading alternative to Google, emphasizing user privacy, tracker blocking, and minimal data collection. Their business model relies on privacy-respecting ads and subscription services, maintaining a strong market presence with over 100 million estimated users and significant mobile search market share in the US and other countries. Technically, the website is built on modern frameworks such as Next.js and React, delivering fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and comprehensive security headers, though there is room for improvement in publishing explicit security policies and incident response information. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of duckduckgo.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

2 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching duckduckgo.com

This scan found 13 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
79
Security headers
90
Email security
88
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
85

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention duckduckgo.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
1,807
Employees
1
Customers
1,744
Third parties
62
Weak passwords
44%

Latest record dated 2025-12-04 · 14 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for duckduckgo.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –dub.duckduckgo.com2025-12-04

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

DuckDuckGo operates in the technology sector, specifically focusing on privacy-enhancing internet services. Their competitive advantage lies in their strict no-tracking policy and open-source tracker lists, which differentiate them from major competitors like Google. Revenue streams include privacy-respecting search ads and a subscription-based Privacy Pro service offering VPN and identity protection. The company targets privacy-conscious internet users globally, with a strong presence in the US and other English-speaking markets. Partnerships include browser extension availability on major browsers and app distribution via Apple App Store and Google Play. The company maintains a consistent brand image and leverages press endorsements from reputable media outlets to build trust.

Security posture

DuckDuckGo exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, robust security headers, and no visible exposure of sensitive data or vulnerable libraries. The site uses secure forms with minimal data collection, aligning with privacy principles. However, the absence of a dedicated security policy page, incident response contact information, and a security.txt file indicates areas for enhancement in transparency and incident management readiness. Compliance with GDPR is evident through the privacy policy, but cookie consent mechanisms are not explicitly present, which may affect compliance in certain jurisdictions. Overall, the security culture appears strong but could benefit from formalized disclosures and contact channels.

Recommendations

  1. Implement an explicit cookie consent banner to enhance compliance with global privacy regulations.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Add a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  4. Provide clear contact information for security incidents and abuse reporting.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to meet broader compliance and user inclusivity standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
DuckDuckGo
Description
The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs.
Key services
Private search engine, Privacy-focused browser for desktop and mobile, Browser extensions, Email Protection, App Tracking Protection, Privacy Pro subscription service
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, JavaScript, SVG, CSS Modules
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with minimal data collection
  • No vulnerable libraries detected in scripts

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Ad networks
DuckDuckGo private ads
Transparency
excellent

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking
  2. Strong emphasis on privacy and user control
  3. Comprehensive FAQ and educational content
  4. Multiple platform support for browser and extensions
  5. Clear business model based on privacy-respecting ads and subscriptions
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage
  7. No explicit cookie consent banner detected
  8. Security headers and HTTPS well implemented
Technical notes

Notes

The website leverages a modern technology stack including React and Next.js, enabling server-side rendering and fast page loads. The use of SVGs and CSS modules contributes to a visually appealing and responsive design optimized for mobile devices. Meta tags and Open Graph data are well implemented, supporting SEO and social media sharing. No CMS is detected, suggesting a custom or headless architecture. Hosting details are not explicit but performance indicators suggest a reliable hosting environment. The site avoids technical debt with clean markup and no broken elements detected. Opportunities exist to further improve accessibility and formalize security disclosures.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 86/100Low21 findingsView report
  2. 86/100Low21 findingsView report
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