Introducing DuckDuckGo Privacy Pro: A New Suite of Tools to Enhance Your Online Security
Charles M. Walls | April 11, 2024 | Views: 170
DuckDuckGo, renowned for its commitment to user privacy, is rolling out an exciting suite of tools named Privacy Pro. This innovative bundle is designed to shield your personal information from the prying eyes of online data brokers.
Privacy Pro is a comprehensive package that includes an anonymous VPN, a personal information removal service, and an identity theft restoration service. The VPN can secure up to five devices simultaneously, enhancing your online privacy across multiple platforms. The personal information removal tool actively scans data broker sites to eliminate your details and prevent them from reappearing. Meanwhile, should your data ever be compromised, the identity theft restoration service offers personalized support to help you restore your accounts, recover financial losses, and amend inaccuracies in your credit report.
Unique to DuckDuckGo, these services require no personal information from the user to be operational. They are fully functional without storing any user data on servers, as all information is encrypted and kept locally on your own devices. Currently, the Privacy Pro tools are only accessible from Mac or PC platforms, as mobile support is still under development.
The company highlights that its VPN service maintains a strict no-logs policy, ensuring that it cannot link any activity back to an individual user. This feature aligns with DuckDuckGo's core policy of not tracking its users.
In 2022, DuckDuckGo enhanced its capability by acquiring the data removal service Removaly. This integration means that all removal requests are processed directly from the user's device, which also regularly checks to ensure your information does not resurface online.
The identity theft restoration is only activated when necessary, and signing up for the service does not require users to divulge any personal information. As for payment, DuckDuckGo has partnered with trusted platforms like Stripe, Google Play, and the Apple App Store to manage subscriptions securely, ensuring that your payment details remain confidential.
Privacy Pro is available at a subscription fee of $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. Initially, the service is available exclusively to U.S. customers, but plans to expand to other regions are underway. This marks the first time DuckDuckGo has offered a paid product, reflecting its ongoing commitment to enhancing user privacy.
