DuckDuckGo hits 30M daily searches as more people flock toward privacy

The anonymous search engine grows as people are more and more concerned about online privacy.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter

Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.

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Marrian Zhou

Oct. 12, 2018 1:48 p.m. PT

DuckDuckGo now runs 30 million private searches a day.

The privacy-focused search engine on Thursday said in a tweet that "it took us seven years to reach 10 million private searches in one day, then another two years to hit 20 million, and now less than a year later we're at 30 million! Thank you all. #ComeToTheDuckSide."

DuckDuckGo fun fact: it took us seven years to reach 10 million private searches in one day, then another two years to hit 20 million, and now less than a year later we're at 30 million! Thank you all 😃 #ComeToTheDuckSide https://t.co/qlSaz4j9ZH
— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) October 11, 2018

Founded in 2008, DuckDuckGo lets users search online anonymously. It doesn't collect or share your personal information, and by default, it doesn't use cookies to recognize your browser.

Online privacy is a growing concern among many people -- and lawmakers -- following a string of privacy related scandals this year. Facebook said in September that 30 million accounts were compromised after a long year of data breach news involving the company since Cambridge Analytica. In September Google reportedly faced an investigation for tracking users' location without consent.

"We're glad to have more people joining us in our work to raise the standard of trust online, and are meeting the increased demand with additional tools, such as a Privacy Essentials browser extension and mobile app, to protect users no matter where they go on the Internet," said a DuckDuckGo spokesperson in an email statement. "We believe the Internet shouldn't feel so creepy, and getting the privacy you deserve online should be as simple as closing the blinds."

First published on Oct. 12, 12:02 p.m. PT.

Updates, 1:48 p.m. PT: Adds DuckDuckGo spokesperson statement.