DuckDuckGo launches privacy-focused subscription with VPN and identity protection - SiliconANGLE (2024)

Duck Duck Go Inc., a company already well-known for its privacy-focused search engine, is once again stretching its wings into even more privacy protection services with aPrivacy Pro planthat includes three services: a virtual private network, a personal information removal service and identity theft restoration.

The plan announced Thursday will cost subscribers $10 per month or a total of $100 per year. The plan is currently only available to users in the United States, but the company said that it intends to expand it to other regions in the future.

The offering comes at a time when Google LLC said it’s droppingthe VPN bundled with the Google One subscriptionplan later this year. Initially launched in 2020, users subscribed to Google One gained access to a VPN that Google said is now coming to an end due to a lack of use.

The new VPN service functions through DuckDuckGo’s already existing privacy-focused browser, which the companylaunched in 2022for Macand brought to Windows in mid-2023. A VPN provides a layer of protection from prying eyes by encrypting internet traffic from a user’s computer to an endpoint in another part of the world, hiding the data running through that connection from a user’s internet service provider. It will also hide their internet protocol address from websites, making it harder to determine their location.

“No need to install a separate VPN app. Once you sign up for Privacy Pro, you can install our VPN right in your DuckDuckGo browser,” DuckDuckGo wrote in its announcement. “After that, you can secure your connection in just one click and check its status at a glance. It offers full-device coverage on up to five devices at once.”

The company said its VPN traffic is encrypted using the open-sourceWireGuard protocoland domain name service queries are also routed through the VPN to the company’s own DNS resolvers, which is designed to avoid revealing information to a user’s ISP. The company added that it also keeps no strict logs of user activity that can to online activity, which will further protect user privacy.

To protect users’ private information, DuckDuckGo has incorporated a public information removal service thatscans data brokersfor info and requests the removal of personal information. The company said that it will even handle the “back-and-forth confirmation emails” automatically behind the scenes to reduce the tedium that comes from trying to fight to get information out of their databases.

“Unlike other similar services, we only contact the data brokers once we confirm that you’re in their databases, and the info you enter for scanning is stored on your device — not on remote servers,” wrote DuckDuckGo.

The technology for scanning and removing this information comes from Removaly, a data removal service that DuckDuckGo acquired in 2022. The personal information removal service powered by Removaly’s technology continues to re-scan the databases of the data broker sites on a regular basis using data stored on user devices and initiates any removal requests – users can also keep tabs on ongoing requests.

What if the worst happens and personal information already out there is used to steal a subscriber’s identity? DuckDuckGo offers identity theft restoration that will bring in an adviser who will help collect information on the situation, freeze credit reports, replace documents, assist with travel, untangle fraudulent medical claims and even reimburse certain expenses.

The company teamed up with Iris Powered by Generali, a firm specializing in identity theft in the U.S., to work with subscribers to get their lives back in order. DuckDuckGo said that no personal information is shared between Iris and DuckDuckGo, but some details are collected about the situation so that an advisor can provide assistance.

Users will need the latest version of the company’s browser to take advantage of these services, which are available oniOS,Android,WindowsandMacOS,and can head to thePrivacy Pro webpageto get more information.

Image: DuckDuckGo