About DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection
DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection is a free protection bundle from a company many people already trust on search. Formerly DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials, it is the company's extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and its code is public under Apache 2.0.
The listing describes third-party tracker loading protection, tracking cookie blocking, automatic HTTPS upgrades, fingerprinting protection, Global Privacy Control, and blocking of Chrome's Topics and Protected Audience advertising APIs. Optional extras include Email Protection, which hides your real address behind a duck.com alias. Chrome runs Manifest V3, and Firefox keeps a Manifest V2 build.
Know the trade-offs. According to the Chrome listing, installing it sets DuckDuckGo as your default search engine and homepage, and the Chrome rating is a mediocre 3.4 from about 2,100 ratings. The company says it earns money from privacy-respecting search ads, not user data. In May 2022 its CEO confirmed that its mobile apps let some Microsoft trackers load because of a search syndication agreement. TechCrunch reported in August 2022 that the extensions had the same limit, and the company said it extended blocking that month. The listing still notes limitations after search ad clicks. If you want tracker blocking without the search change, Privacy Badger is cleaner.
Pros and cons
- Blocks third-party trackers and cookies, forces HTTPS, and limits fingerprinting
- Free and open source under Apache 2.0
- Frequently updated: version 2026.10.6 in October 2026
- Includes optional email alias protection
- Sets DuckDuckGo as your default search engine and homepage on install
- Chrome rating is only 3.4 out of 5
- Until August 2022 its apps and extensions did not block Microsoft trackers, because of a Bing search agreement
Permissions
It can read and change data on all websites, see your tabs and navigation, and modify requests, which it needs to block trackers and upgrade connections to HTTPS. On install it also changes search and homepage settings.
