DuckDuckGo Launches Anonymous AI Chat Service

DuckDuckGo, the search engine known for its emphasis on user privacy, this week launched DuckDuckGo AI Chat. This new feature allows users to interact with various AI chatbots anonymously, without their conversations being tied back to them.

According to a recent Pew Research Center report, a significant portion of U.S. adults express concerns about companies using their personal information for unintended purposes. This concern extends to the use of AI, with many users hesitant to interact with AI chatbots due to privacy worries.

DuckDuckGo aims to address this concern by offering a platform for anonymous AI interaction. They believe this will encourage exploration of AI chatbots while maintaining user privacy.

How DuckDuckGo AI Chat works

DuckDuckGo AI Chat currently offers access to several AI chat models, including:

• OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 Turbo
• Anthropic’s Claude 3 Haiku
• Meta Llama 3 (open-source)
• Mixtral 8x7B (open-source)

Users can choose their preferred model and initiate a chat conversation. According to DuckDuckGo, all chats are anonymous. To achieve this, DuckDuckGo acts as an intermediary, removing the user's IP address and replacing it with their own. This prevents the underlying chat models from identifying individual users.

Privacy Measures in DuckDuckGo AI Chat

User Anonymity: DuckDuckGo claims it does not store or save any chat conversations.

Model Provider Data Storage: The underlying chat model providers may temporarily store conversations for functionality and troubleshooting purposes. However, these conversations are anonymized by removing all user metadata, making it impossible to link them back to specific users. Even if a user enters personal information in the chat, the model providers cannot identify the user.

Data Deletion: DuckDuckGo has agreements with all model providers to ensure deletion of any stored chats within 30 days. Additionally, these chats cannot be used to train or improve the chat models.

Is DuckDuckGo AI Chat Free?

Yes, DuckDuckGo AI Chat is currently free to use, with a daily usage limit implemented to maintain user anonymity. The company plans to keep the basic level of access free while exploring a paid tier offering higher usage limits and access to more advanced chat models.

DuckDuckGo plans to expand the functionality of AI Chat by:

• Introducing new features like custom system prompts.
• Adding more chat models, potentially including user-hosted options.
• Improving the overall user experience.

Users can provide feedback on desired features or suggest specific chat models for inclusion through the "Share Feedback" button within the AI Chat interface.

How to Access DuckDuckGo AI Chat

There are several ways to access DuckDuckGo AI Chat:

• Visiting duck.ai or duckduckgo.com/chat directly.
• Clicking on the "Chat" tab located beneath the search bar on DuckDuckGo search results pages.
• Using the "!ai" or "!chat" bangs (shortcuts) within the DuckDuckGo search bar.
• Disabling AI Chat is possible through the Search settings menu for users who prefer not to use the feature.

This launch signifies DuckDuckGo's commitment to providing user-friendly AI interaction while prioritizing user privacy. As the technology evolves, it will be interesting to see how DuckDuckGo AI Chat develops and how it compares to other AI chatbot platforms.