DuckDuckGo

Inside DuckDuckGo

Technology EN ↓ 37 episodes

Behind the scenes with the DuckDuckGo team — sharing insights on product, engineering, leadership, and AI. insideduckduckgo.substack.com

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DuckDuckGo

Episodes

Duck Tales: The DuckDuckGo browser now blocks ads on YouTube videos, so you can watch without interruption (Ep.37) 08.07.2026 12:09

In this episode, Peter (Product) and Dave (Privacy) discuss YouTube Ad Blocking, why we built it, how it works, and how it differs from Duck Player. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or e...

Duck Tales: AI in the DuckDuckGo browser — private, useful & optional (Ep.36) 01.07.2026 21:57

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Aitor (Engineering) discuss AI in the DuckDuckGo browser, including how we’re integrating Duck.ai, our private AI chat. Plus, why it’s important we make AI not just easy to access, but easy to dial down or turn off entirely. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcri...

Duck Tales: AI optionality, and why DuckDuckGo installs are up ~40% since Google swapped search for AI mode (Ep.35) 24.06.2026 14:20

In this episode, Cristina (Chief Marketing Officer) and Kamyl (Chief Comms & Public Affairs Officer) discuss the AI announcements of Google I/O, our response, and how our long-term stance on AI optionality led to rapid and record growth. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is ope...

Duck Tales: Voice-mode in Duck.ai. The private, hands-free way to chat with popular AIs (Ep.34) 17.06.2026 13:40

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Fran (Engineering) discuss voice-mode in Duck.ai, common use cases, and how it’s private. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode id...

Duck Tales: How we've made it easier to generate images privately in Duck.ai (Ep.33) 10.06.2026 13:46

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Matej (Engineering) discuss the evolution of image generation in Duck.ai, UX improvements, and the challenge of balancing output quality and speed. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy...

Duck Tales: Dax (our mascot) is coming to the physical world, on shoes, shirts, and security keys (Ep.32). 03.06.2026 23:35

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Dan (Brand Strategy) discuss our first set of branded collaborations, where the idea came from, and why people would rep Dax in public. Show notes : Shop the collaborations here Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. Th...

Duck Tales: The role of user research, A/B testing, and "dogfooding" at DuckDuckGo (Ep.31) 20.05.2026 19:20

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Zac (SVP, Insights) discuss our approach to user research, how we run robust research while respecting user privacy, and why moving quickly matters. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privac...

Duck Tales: How DuckDuckGo provides useful “near me” search results, while keeping your location private. 13.05.2026 14:03

In this episode, Greg and John (Search) discuss local search results, and how we help you find local cafes, restaurants, and business, without knowing your precise location. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Greg: Hello and...

Duck Tales: How DuckDuckGo uses data science to measure marketing effectiveness, privately (Ep.29) 06.05.2026 12:05

In this episode, Cristina (CMO) and Baran (Data Science) discuss our privacy-first approach to marketing measurement, the role of incrementality, and how the team operates day to day. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Crist...

Duck Tales: The fire button, a delightful way to delete your browsing data (Ep.28) 29.04.2026 19:39

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Sveta (Design) discuss the fire button, the recent redesign, and how it improves both user privacy and delight. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Beah: Hello, welcome to Du...

Duck Tales: How we privately sync bookmarks, passwords & AI chats across your devices, without you needing an account (Ep.27) 22.04.2026 16:31

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Emanuele (Engineering) discuss Sync — which lets you have consistent bookmarks, passwords, and AI chats across devices — how it’s unique from a privacy perspective, and what’s coming next. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is op...

Duck Tales: How we build, design, and trigger instant answers on DuckDuckGo search (Ep.26) 08.04.2026 18:48

In this episode, Greg (Product) and Karl (Design Engineering) discuss how we build, design and decide when to show Instant Answers. Plus, how we’re balancing instant answers with optional AI generated answers. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is t...

Duck Tales: Hack Days at DuckDuckGo — why we do them, and the role of trust (Ep.25) 01.04.2026 20:14

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Julia (People Operations) discuss hack days (our version of a hackathon), how we encourage participation, and some of the product changes it’s led to. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy...

Duck Tales: DuckDuckGo browser updates — custom themes and password manager (Ep.24) 25.03.2026 14:15

In this episode, Peter (Product), Stephen (Design) and Balint (Windows) discuss updates to our browsers, from the most popular custom themes, to why over 40% of our iOS users have made DuckDuckGo their system-wide password manager. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated...

Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo is giving users a choice about if and how they use AI (Ep.23) 18.03.2026 20:17

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Zac (SVP, Insights) discuss AI adoption, common user concerns, and why we’re building AI that users can control and customize. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Gabriel: Hello, welcome...

Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo is building its own web search index (Ep.22) 11.03.2026 13:14

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Caine (CTO, first employee) discuss the history of our search engine, why now is the right time to build a full web search index, and how our scale makes us uniquely positioned to ship, learn and iterate quickly. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This...

Duck Tales: Browser onboarding — why first impressions matter, user education, and the role of personality (Ep.21) 04.03.2026 22:08

This episode, Mary (Associate VP, Brand) Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Bobby (Director, Product) discuss how DuckDuckGo’s browser onboarding was designed, why it matters for a privacy browser, and how Dax’s personality helps users feel confident in their protections. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcriptio...

Duck Tales: How we work at DuckDuckGo — remote-first, with memorable meetups (Ep20). 25.02.2026 27:53

In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and John (People Ops) discuss aynchronous working, no meeting days, and the role of face to face meetups. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello, and welcome to DuckTales...

Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo acquired Removaly to expand its privacy offering (Ep.19) 18.02.2026 11:13

In this episode, Cristina (CMO) and John (Marketing, previously co-founder of Removaly) discuss the acquisition process, adjusting to DuckDuckGo culture, and how Removaly has informed our customer service and product strategy. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Su...

Duck Tales: Duck Sans — designing a typeface that balances functionality and brand (ep.18) 11.02.2026 23:35

In this episode, Mary (Senior Director, Brand), and Nirzar (AI Design Lead) discuss why we developed a new typeface, how we implemented it, and its role in communicating our personality. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Ma...

Duck Tales: How DuckDuckGo blocks trackers on third-party websites (Ep.17) 04.02.2026 15:14

This episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Dave (Privacy team) discuss our tracker blocklist, how it works, and why most of it is open source. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) have been lightly edited for clarity. However, they may still contain some minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy poli...

Duck Tales: Yes AI or No AI? The thinking behind DuckDuckGo’s public AI vote (Ep.16) 28.01.2026 17:36

Curious how people voted? Head to VoteYesOrNoAI.com Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Kamyl: Hello and welcome to DuckTales where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology and people that hel...

Duck Tales: Duck Player — a free, private way to watch YouTube videos, with fewer ads & no distractions (Ep.15) 14.01.2026 12:33

In this episode, Beah (SVP, Product) and Omid (Product) discuss Duck Player, how it’s private, and how to use it. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Show notes: Duck Player is available in all DuckDuckGo browsers. When you c...

Duck Tales: Building useful, private, optional AI directly into search, with Search Assist (Ep.14) 07.01.2026 20:49

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Ewa (Product) discuss Search Assist, why we’re so focused on letting users control their experience, and future improvements. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Show notes: Learn more a...

Duck Tales: DuckDuckGo donations — why we’ve donated $8M+ to organizations that align with our vision (Episode 13) 17.12.2025 19:32

In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Joe (Policy team) discuss why we donate, the types of organizations we donate to, and some examples of impact. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Show notes: See our full list of donati...