DuckDuckGo, the privacy search engine that allows users to search without fear of being tracked, has reached a major milestone. The company revealed that it was having 14 million searches in a single day on January 10th, 2017.
And in addition to that, the search engine is also celebrating a combined total of 10 billion searches performed since the site’s inception, with 4 billion searches conducted in December 2016 alone. What this means, DuckDuckGo was serving 8-9 million searches per day on average in 2016.
"People are actively seeking out ways to reduce their digital footprint online," said DuckDuckGo, noting that a Pew Research study reported 40 percent of people believe search engines shouldn't collect information about a people's online activity.
As a niche search engine that operates behind Google's intimidating shadow. DuckDuckGo is a name that many people don't know exists. But for its year-over-year growth, the achievement is indeed phenomenal.
Not to mention that DuckDuckGo is only 8 years old.
Founded by Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo is a search engine that builds its reputation on privacy and transparency. While others, notably Google, include users' data to create personalized search, DuckDuckGo treats users equally. All searches conducted by the search engine are performed anonymously, and aren't recorded or tracked.
It’s also one of the most transparent search engines in the sense that it makes its own data publicly available for everyone to see.
"At DuckDuckGo, our vision is to raise the standard of trust online, and in service of that vision, our mission is to be the world’s most trusted search engine."
With the milestone, the company is growing faster than ever.
Staying true to its mission, the company donated $225,000 to nine organizations that are also dedicated to raising the standard of trust online. They include: Freedom of the Press Foundation, OpenBSD Foundation, Tor Project, Fight for the Future and Riseup Labs.