Duck.ai: private AI chat from DuckDuckGo

Name: Duck.ai
Author: DuckDuckGo

At a Glance

Pricing

FreemiumFree with daily limits; Plus £9.99 a month or £99.99 a year, Pro £19.99 a month or £199.99 a year (UK App Store; includes VPN)

Founded

2008

Headquarters

Paoli, United States

Target Audience

Privacy-minded individuals who want a general chat assistant without an account, and DuckDuckGo subscribers who want larger models alongside a VPN.

AI Model

Free: Claude 4.5 Haiku, Mistral Small 4, GPT-5.4 nano, GPT-5.4 mini, gpt-oss-120b and Gemma 4 31B (last two hosted by Tinfoil). Plus: GPT-5.6 Terra, Claude Sonnet 4.6. Pro: GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude Opus 4.8. Voice chat uses OpenAI.

Platforms

Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Key Features

Free models: Claude 4.5 Haiku, Mistral Small 4, GPT-5.4 nano, GPT-5.4 mini, gpt-oss-120b and Gemma 4 31B

Plus adds GPT-5.6 Terra and Claude Sonnet 4.6; Pro adds GPT-5.6 Sol and Claude Opus 4.8, higher reasoning effort and double Plus's usage limits

IP address and identifying metadata removed before prompts reach the provider, with no-training and zero-retention agreements

Chats saved on your device by default, with optional Sync & Backup that is end-to-end encrypted

Voice chat powered by OpenAI through an encrypted relay, and image creation from text prompts, both with daily limits

Image and PDF uploads on models that support them (PDFs up to 15/35/50 pages by plan); no spreadsheet uploads

No account needed; works at duck.ai and in the DuckDuckGo browser

Delete all chats at once with the Fire Button, or pick individual ones

Pros & Cons

Strengths

Free to use without an account or sign-up
Providers are contractually barred from training on your chats and must delete prompts after replying
UK subscription is priced in pounds and bundles a VPN with the larger models

Limitations

Free daily limits exist but DuckDuckGo doesn't say what they are
Image and PDF uploads work only on some models, with PDF page caps by plan; no spreadsheets
GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.8 all need a paid plan
History stays on one device unless you enable Sync & Backup, and Safari may delete it after 7 days idle

What it is

Duck.ai is DuckDuckGo's chat assistant. It runs at duck.ai and inside the DuckDuckGo browser, and sends your prompts to models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Mistral, plus open-weight models hosted by Tinfoil. DuckDuckGo removes your IP address and other identifying metadata first. Its agreements with providers bar them from training on your chats and require prompts and replies to be deleted once the answer is generated.

Who it suits

It's for people who want help with drafting, summarising and quick questions without signing up or handing an AI company their identity. Some models accept image and PDF uploads (PDFs capped at 15 pages on Free, 35 on Plus and 50 on Pro), but spreadsheets can't be uploaded.

How pricing works

The free tier gives you six smaller models with a daily cap. DuckDuckGo doesn't publish the number. The DuckDuckGo subscription adds larger models. Plus adds GPT-5.6 Terra and Claude Sonnet 4.6 and costs £9.99 a month or £99.99 a year in the UK App Store. Pro adds GPT-5.6 Sol and Claude Opus 4.8, higher reasoning effort and twice Plus's limits for £19.99 a month or £199.99 a year. Both plans include DuckDuckGo's VPN and Identity Theft Restoration. UK subscribers pay through the app stores, and the Personal Information Removal service is US only.

Where it falls short

Chats are kept on your device unless you turn on Sync & Backup, so your history won't follow you to another device by default, and Safari can clear it after seven days of inactivity. The unpublished free limits also make it hard to judge whether you'll need to pay before you hit them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an account to use Duck.ai?

No. You can use the free models at duck.ai or in the DuckDuckGo browser without signing up.

Can I buy the DuckDuckGo subscription in the UK?

Yes. DuckDuckGo lists the UK as a supported region, with payment through the app stores. UK subscribers get Duck.ai's larger models, the VPN and Identity Theft Restoration, but not Personal Information Removal, which is US only.

Can OpenAI or Anthropic see who I am?

DuckDuckGo removes your IP address and other identifying metadata before sending the prompt, and shares only the date, your timezone and preferred units. Providers may cache prompts in memory for up to an hour and keep data where law or security requires.

Duck.ai