Verdict
Duck.ai lets anyone ask GPT, Claude, Mistral and other models questions with no sign-up, and DuckDuckGo strips the IP address before anything reaches them. The providers promise not to train on chats and to delete them within 30 days, though a June 2026 user thread argued that promise is hard to check. There is no memory between chats, no image generation and no deep research, so it suits quick private questions more than big projects.
Best for
Quick private questions without making an account
Skip if
Anyone who needs image making, memory or long research reports
Key facts
- Category
- Search & quick answers
- Made by
- Duck Duck Go, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2025
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web, Windows, Mac
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £9.99 a month
- Free plan
- Free with no account; six smaller models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and others, with unpublished daily limits
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| DuckDuckGo Plus | £9.99 | month |
| DuckDuckGo Plus | £99.99 | year |
| DuckDuckGo Pro | £19.99 | month |
| DuckDuckGo Pro | £199.99 | year |
What it does
- free private AI chat from DuckDuckGo
- Plus adds advanced AI models
- Pro adds top models such as Claude Opus and GPT-5.6 with double the Plus usage limits
- the subscription also includes a VPN, personal information removal and identity theft restoration
Ratings
What people say
Users like getting big-name models free and anonymously, but user has two loud complaint camps. Some say the AI prompts won't go away even on the no-AI page, and others doubt how private the model providers really keep chats. Store ratings cover the whole DuckDuckGo browser, so they say little about Duck.ai.
“It's a front-end for ChatGPT that is anonymized.. All the power, none of the tracking.”
Post on X, 5 October 2026 · source
“Duck AI has been the GOAT for me personally. Since when is it limited? Very sad to see”
Individual user review, 2 March 2026 · source
“duckduckgo now forces the duck.ai bs even on the literal noai.domain”
Individual user review, 15 May 2026 · source
“duck.ai allows AI companies to store your chats, process them for profit, and build a personal, permanent profile about you”
Individual user review, 3 June 2026 · source
“Duck.ai does not record or store any of your chats, and your conversations are not used to train chat models by DuckDuckGo or the underlying model providers”
Individual user review, 3 June 2026 · source
Press reviews
- TechRadar 2026-07-13
'A genuinely strong option for anyone who wants AI chat without handing over personal data'; usage limits are vague and the AI can't be bought without the bundle.
- Android Authority 2026-10-09
As fast as ChatGPT's own site and strips identifying data, but anything typed into a prompt still reaches the provider and there is no memory across chats.
- Tom's Guide 2025-10-21
Called it the most private AI chatbot on the web; no login needed, but no image or video tools.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- No. DuckDuckGo says its agreements bar model providers from using prompts and outputs to develop or improve their models
- Opt-out
- Not needed; recent chats are stored only on the device and saving can be switched off
- Retention
- Providers delete data once no longer needed, at most within 30 days (limited safety and legal exceptions); optional encrypted Sync & Backup deleted after 18 months unused
- Incidents
- No breaches or regulatory actions found in searches of user reviews, HN, TechCrunch and TechRadar. A June 2026 user thread disputed how much providers retain; DuckDuckGo replied publicly that chats are not stored or used for training.
- Age limit
- 18+ (under-18s only with a parent or guardian's supervision); no age check
Official videos
- Duck Tales: Improving AI chat organization, and design decisions at DuckDuckGo (Episode 8) 2025-11-12
- Duck Tales: Building useful, private, optional AI directly into search, with Search Assist (Ep.14) 2026-01-07
FAQ
Is Duck.ai free?
Yes, with no account. A DuckDuckGo Plus subscription (£9.99 a month in the UK) adds bigger models along with a VPN and identity protection.
Is Duck.ai really private?
DuckDuckGo removes the IP address and says providers may not train on chats and must delete them within 30 days. Anything personal typed into a question still reaches the provider.
Which AI models does Duck.ai use?
Free models include Claude Haiku, GPT mini and nano models, Mistral Small and Gemma. Paid plans add larger GPT and Claude models.
Can I turn Duck.ai off in DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo offers a no-AI search page and settings to hide AI features, though some individual reviewers say AI prompts still appeared in May 2026.
Can teenagers use Duck.ai?
Its terms say it is intended for adults 18 and over, or under-18s with a parent's supervision. Nothing checks age.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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