Skip to main content

Vivaldi and DuckDuckGo join forces to keep search habits private

Today’s search engines are fast, powerful, and accurate, providing unparalleled access to information for anyone with a browser and an internet connection. There’s a price to be paid in privacy for all of that power, however, particularly if you like to keep your search results in sync across devices. That’s what makes alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo so attractive to many people, and now alternative browser Vivaldi is making DuckDuckGo its default for private browsing.

When we say “alternative search engine,” of course, we’re talking about alternatives to Google and, to a lesser extent, Microsoft’s Bing. And we’re talking about Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s Edge, and Mozilla’s Firefox when we’re characterizing Vivaldi as an alternative. Both take a different approach to their chosen task, DuckDuckGo in refusing to track or gather any private user information and Vivaldi in offering a very different approach to web browsing.

Now, when you open a Private Window in Vivaldi, that is, the browser’s private mode that like Chrome’s Incognito mode and Edge’s In Private session, the default search engine will now be set as DuckDuckGo. That means that not only will the browser not save any browsing session information, but the search engine won’t track any information as well.

Vivaldi Technologies
Vivaldi Technologies

As John von Tetzcher, CEO of Vivaldi Technologies, puts it, “The current climate demands a thriving internet — not an internet with increased surveillance and security breaches. There has been a widespread concern amongst users about their data being shared. More than ever, there is an immediate need to protect our privacy. We are proud to join hands with DuckDuckGo and provide solutions in Vivaldi that respect users’ privacy.”

DuckDuckGo CEO and Founder Gabriel Weinberg wants to set the record straight about safe mode browsing and search engines. Speaking to that point, he said, “A lot of people think their searches aren’t tracked in private browsing modes. Unfortunately, that’s not true. This new integration with Vivaldi enables people to get the privacy they expect and deserve in that mode.”

This development should be interesting to the 24 percent of U.S. adults who are concerned about their online privacy and are taking action to secure it. If that’s you, then you’ll want to consider Vivaldi as your internet browser, at least if you’re equally concerned about keeping your search habits private.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Coppock
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
The best alternatives to Google Search
Five search engines that won't track every move you make.

Google may be the biggest and most popular search engine by far, but its data harvesting practices can leave a bad taste in your mouth. But it's not the only search engine out there, and in fact, many of them can offer something that Google doesn't: Privacy.

Here are some of the best alternatives to Google Search, with a collection of useful features and the option of remaining entirely anonymous, no matter what you're looking for.
Startpage

Read more
Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo added to Chrome as a default search option
europes youngest app developer kicked out of school for hacking its computer network keyboard

Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo is now listed as a default search option on Google’s Chrome browser.

DuckDuckGo has been added as part of Chrome’s latest update (version 73), which rolled out on Tuesday, March 12, and should be showing for users in 60 countries around the world, including the United States.

Read more
No more wild goose chase: ‘Duck.com’ now leads to DuckDuckGo instead of Google
DuckDuckGo CEO photo

Current and prospective users of DuckDuckGo now have another way to access the famous non-tracking search engine.

It was confirmed on Monday, December 10, to NamePros that DuckDuckGo had acquired a new, shorter domain name for its search engine’s main page: duck.com. Duck.com now redirects users to DuckDuckGo.com.

Read more