DuckDuckGo launches $9.99 per month privacy bundle with VPN

DuckDuckGo is announcing a new bundled subscription service, Privacy Pro, that offers an additional layer of privacy beyond its existing offerings. Users who pay $9.99 per month will get access to a VPN that uses the open-source WireGuard protocol, on-device personal information removal, and 24/7 identity theft restoration. While users of DuckDuckGo’s private browser and/or search engine are no fans of online tracking, PrivacyPro seems geared towards the most cautious of its user-base — who are also willing to pay extra for an encrypted internet connection. 

DuckDuckGo’s full array of offerings have long been free to use, including its browser, search engine, various plug-ins, even its email protection service. PrivacyPro is the company’s first paid subscription. The company chalks this up to the “significantly more bandwidth and resources” that offering a VPN service requires. Still, if it’s only a standalone VPN that you’re after, there are many high-quality ones on the market that are under five dollars a month.

The three services included in PrivacyPro (VPN, ID theft restoration, personal information removal) are built into DuckDuckGo’s browser, so you’ll need to download the browser and sign-up for a PrivacyPro subscription to activate them. 

Since it offers encryption, PrivacyPro appears to be a significant step above DuckDuckGo’s existing privacy offerings. DuckDuckGo’s free browser effectively serves as an extra strong tracker blocker, helping users to avoid email, app, and ad trackers, as well as tracking from social media platforms. Its search engine, the company states in its privacy policy, doesn’t track your search or browsing histories, and blocks any other third parties who try to.

Meanwhile, DuckDuckGo’s VPN, the company says, encrypts your internet connection across your entire device — including all the browsers and apps you’re using at the time. Instead of a traditional account username and password, PrivacyPro users will be assigned a random ID. Your ISP provider shouldn’t be able to see your browsing activity, and DuckDuckGo itself won’t keep logs of your VPN activity.

DuckDuckGo has VPN servers in the US, Europe, and Canada, and users can choose from whichever location they prefer. The company says it plans to add more over time.

PrivacyPro, DuckDuckGo claims, will also take down your personal info from third-party data broker sites like Spokeo. “We scan dozens of these sites for your info and, if found, request its removal, even handling back-and-forth confirmation emails for you automatically behind the scenes,” the company writes. DuckDuckGo says that the information it uses for scanning is stored on the user’s device, and never enters a remote server. 

Here’s an example of what the feature looks like below:

Lastly, DuckDuckGo says that PrivacyPro will help in the event a user’s identity gets stolen. That help will come through a partnership with identity theft protection company Iris. The service appears to be a 24/7 concierge for identity theft, helping users with tasks like cancelling and replacing important documents, informing health insurance providers of any fraudulent claims, freezing their credit report, and more.