DuckDuckGo AI Chat Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

When you interact with DuckDuckGo AI Chat (“AI Chat”), responses (“Outputs”) are generated based on the text you submit (“Prompts”).

We do not save or store your Prompts or Outputs on DuckDuckGo servers. Instead, recent chats are optionally saved locally on your device, to protect your privacy.

Your recent chats are automatically saved locally on your device (instead of on DuckDuckGo servers or other remote servers) unless you opt-out. You can delete a recent chat by clicking the delete icon next to it. You can delete all recent chats at once by either using the Fire Button within AI Chat or clearing your browser data. Recent chats are also automatically deleted after 30 conversations. Additionally, you should know some browsers automatically delete recent chats if you have not accessed AI Chat within so many days, while others retain data for extended periods or indefinitely, unless you explicitly clear it.

All metadata that contains personal information (for example, your IP address) is removed before sending Prompts to underlying model providers (for example, OpenAI, Anthropic). If you submit personal information in your Prompts, it may be reproduced in the Outputs, but no one can tell (including us and the underlying model providers) whether it was you personally submitting the Prompts or someone else.

We have agreements with model providers to further protect your privacy.

As noted above, we call model providers on your behalf so your personal information (for example, IP address) is not exposed to them. In addition, we have agreements in place with all model providers that further limit how they can use data from these anonymous requests, including not using Prompts and Outputs to develop or improve their models, as well as deleting all information received once it is no longer necessary to provide Outputs (at most within 30 days, with limited exceptions for safety and legal compliance).

Our general Privacy Policy also applies here. If there is a conflict with our general Privacy Policy, this AI Chat Privacy Policy applies.

Terms of Service

You retain all intellectual property rights in your Prompts and Outputs.

We claim no ownership of either your Prompts or Outputs. You grant us a limited intellectual property license permitting us only to process your Prompts and provide you the Outputs consistent with our Privacy Policy. You represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights and permissions to include any personal data or third-party content in your Prompts.

Outputs may be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise unreliable.

By its very nature, AI Chat generates text with limited information. As such, Outputs that appear complete or accurate because of their detail or specificity may not be. For example, AI Chat cannot dynamically retrieve information so Outputs may be outdated. You should not rely on any Output without verifying its contents using other sources, especially for professional advice (like medical, financial, or legal advice).

Outputs may be offensive.

Outputs don't represent our views.

AI Chat is only intended for and available to people who are age 13 or older.

If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you must have your parent or legal guardian's permission to use AI Chat.

The models accessible through AI Chat are subject to the model provider's usage policies. Broadly, that means that using AI Chat for illegal, harmful, regulated, and sexually explicit purposes is prohibited.

AI Chat allows you to use models from leading model providers without being tracked. These model providers have usage policies, and our Terms therefore mirror those policies. For example, usage policies from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta apply to their respective models.

Accordingly, it is a violation of these Terms to use AI Chat for anything:

• Illegal or harmful to others, including generating hateful, harassing, or threatening content, or using Outputs for anything fraudulent or deceptive.
• Violating other's rights or property, including privacy and intellectual property rights, creating spam, malware, computer viruses, or gaining access to computer systems without authorization.
• Sexually explicit or obscene.
• With high risk of physical or economic harm, including designing weapons, explosives, or other dangerous materials, or promoting multi-level marketing, gambling, or sports betting.
• In a regulated area, including providing legal, financial, or medical advice or services, political campaigning or lobbying, determining eligibility for financial products or creditworthiness, housing (leases and home loans), employment, or more generally for governmental decision-making, such as law enforcement or immigration decisions.
• Interfering with or negatively impacting AI Chat or other DuckDuckGo Services, including automated querying and developing or offering AI services, such as training an AI model.

Safety features created by model providers may try to prevent you from misusing AI Chat.

To avoid misuse, model providers embed safety mechanisms to block certain Prompts and the generation of certain Outputs.

If you break the law or violate these Terms when using AI Chat for commercial purposes and we get sued, you may have to take responsibility.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless DuckDuckGo, its affiliates, employees, and any other agents from and against any claims, losses, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to your use of AI Chat for commercial purposes, including your subsequent use of any Outputs, your breach of these Terms, or violation of applicable law.

We will notify you when our AI Chat Privacy Policy or Terms of Service are updated.

We may change AI Chat at any time. We will notify you of changes to this document by posting the modified version at duckduckgo.com/aichat/privacy-terms. We will indicate the date it was last modified below with an update message on top if substantive changes were made. Continuing to access or use AI Chat after any changes constitutes your consent and agreement to any new terms.

We may suspend or terminate your access to AI Chat at any time if you violate these Terms.

Our general DuckDuckGo Terms of Service also applies here. If there is a conflict with our general DuckDuckGo Terms of Service, these AI Chat Terms of Service apply.