Parents' Guide to DuckDuckGo

Website https://www.duckduckgo.com
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Common Sense Media Review

Polly Conway By Polly Conway , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 10+

Browser emphasizes safe searches, doesn't filter content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 10+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 14 parent reviews

Parents say that while the platform is praised for its privacy features and lack of tracking compared to other search engines, many reviews express concern over its suitability for children due to the potential exposure to inappropriate or unfiltered content. Users highlight the importance of parental supervision and caution against assuming the site is completely safe for kids, as inappropriate results can still surface even with filters activated.

  • privacy concerns
  • inappropriate content
  • parental supervision
  • unfiltered results
  • not kid-friendly
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 14 parent reviews
age 7+

Based on 8 kid reviews

 

 

See all 8 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What's It About?

DUCKDUCKGO is a general-purpose search engine that does not track users, collect or share personal information, or use cookies. If you type \"pizza\" into its search box, it will take you to a list of pizza links, but it will not save that search or send it to third parties. Consequently, you won't be identified as a person interested in pizza, which will prevent a bunch of pizza ads from popping up every time you browse the Internet.

When you click a link through DuckDuckGo, it redirects that request so the destination site doesn't receive your search terms. The site will still know that you visited it, but it won't know what search term you entered to get there.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 14 ):
Kids say ( 8 ):

In a world where "google" is a verb and is listed in the dictionary, other search engines don't get much attention. But DuckDuckGo is gaining popularity as people become more aware of privacy concerns related to Internet searches. It seems to work just as well as Google, albeit without many bells and whistles. It no longer seems paranoid to be concerned about privacy issues, and, as the online climate changes, it's nice to have another option for searching the Web. However, its cute interface may lead some parents to erroneously think it's a kid-friendly browser. Although DuckDuckGo is safer than other search engines, it does not protect or prevent kids from going to any website they desire.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Review the 10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety. Talk to your kids about maintaining a responsible and safe online presence.

  • Is online safety as important as "real-life" safety? What are the differences?

Website Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

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