Getting Started With The DuckDuckGo Subscription

As soon as you complete the purchase for your DuckDuckGo subscription (available on iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows), you can start taking advantage of its included services immediately on the device on which you subscribed (a.k.a. your initial device).

NOTE: Due to our strict Privacy Policy, we intentionally collect as little personal information as possible during the subscription process. All of the initial authentication requests to activate your subscription are done using secure tokens, and without any personal information, such as your email address. Only if you choose to activate your subscription on an additional device, will our system require your email address for authentication.

Subscription Settings

All the services offered through the DuckDuckGo subscription are managed directly within the DuckDuckGo browser on your device(s). To access these settings, open the 3-line menu in the browser > Settings. This takes you to DuckDuckGo browser settings.

From within the DuckDuckGo Settings screen, on the left menu panel, go to Subscription Settings.

Add Your Subscription to Other Devices

You do not need to add your email address to your subscription. It’s only necessary if you would like to activate your DuckDuckGo subscription on one or more additional devices.

💡 Before you can use your subscription on other devices, you need to add your email address to your subscription on the device where you initially subscribed.

When you add your email address, DuckDuckGo will send a one-time passphrase (OTP) for authentication purposes. This OTP will be 4 randomly generated words separated by spaces, and all lower-case. This OTP will need to be entered, exactly as written, into the designated field in the DuckDuckGo browser.

Once you’ve manually authenticated your email address, you will see it displayed on the Subscription Settings screen. If you need to make any changes to the email address you can use the “Edit” button.

To activate your subscription on an additional device, you can go to this Subscription Settings screen on the additional device, and add the same email address, following the same authentication process described above, but using a different one-time passphrase.

Subscription Settings

This Subscription Settings section is displayed when your subscription is set to renew. If you purchased directly through the DuckDuckGo website, and not through an app store, you also have the ability to update your plan (e.g., change from monthly to annual renewal) or cancel your subscription. If you purchased your subscription through the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, you can manage your subscription through the respective store.

❗If you purchased directly through a store (Google Play Store or Apple App Store), your DuckDuckGo subscription is neither managed, nor renewed through DuckDuckGo. We do not have any record of your subscription, so any cancellations or changes to your subscription must be done through the store.

In some cases, you may need to remove the DuckDuckGo subscription from a device. This can be done by selecting the “Remove From This Device” link. Removing the subscription from your device will result in you not being able to access the services offered through the subscription (e.g., the VPN, Personal Information Removal, etc.) on that specific device, while still maintaining an active subscription. Removing a subscription from a device does not cancel the subscription.

Set up the VPN

To set up the DuckDuckGo VPN on your initial device, open the 3-line menu in the DuckDuckGo browser > Settings > VPN, and then select the option to “Install.”

If you’d like to set up the VPN on an additional device, you will first need to activate the DuckDuckGo Subscription (using the OTP steps listed in Add Your Subscription to Other Devices), and then you’ll have access to the VPN screen in the browser settings.

Connect the VPN to a server location

Once the DuckDuckGo VPN is set up, you will have the option to "Open VPN...”. By default, the VPN will connect to the DuckDuckGo server location physically closest to your device, but you can manually change it to be any of the server locations we have available.

💡 Connecting to a VPN server that’s located closest to you will ensure the fastest possible internet speeds. Although you can connect to a VPN server located halfway around the world, speeds will be impacted, as all your internet traffic will need to travel all that way, back and forth, to request and load website and app data.

Set up your Personal Information Removal profile

In order for Personal Information Removal (PIR) to effectively scan and remove your personal data from online broker sites, you must first configure your PIR profile. To do so, open the 3-line menu in the DuckDuckGo browser > Settings > Personal Information Removal.

Personal Information Removal can be configured for only one person. Enter the full name, including maiden name and any nicknames, if applicable. Being as complete as possible will help to maximize results. Next, enter the birth year and the cities lived in, then save the profile. This data is stored locally on your device and never shared with DuckDuckGo.

💡 PIR will run its scan and removal processes in the background. You do not need to keep the DuckDuckGo browser open for the processes to function.

Recovering from a stolen identity

Your DuckDuckGo Subscription also includes Identity Theft Restoration, which can help you get back on the right track if your identity is ever stolen.

To open a case, open the 3-line menu in the DuckDuckGo browser > Settings > Identity Theft Restoration and select “Talk to an Advisor.” A randomly generated Access Code will be displayed, and you will need to provide that to the advisor when you call the number presented on the screen.

I have a question not covered here, how can I get help?

Please contact support at our Subscriber Support page. We use Zendesk, a third-party customer support platform, to store and facilitate our responses to support requests.

If you have ideas on how to improve the subscription, please let us know using the “Share Feedback” button in the DuckDuckGo browser.