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App Tracking, Duck AI, the Microsoft Controversy, and the Future of Private Browsing (DuckDuckGo Interview)

May 30, 2026 · 1 h 24 min

Show notes

Most people know DuckDuckGo as a search engine, but they're also creating a full privacy ecosystem covering a browser, VPN, data broker removal, and app tracking protection. In this Techlore Talks interview, Henry sits down with Peter Dolanjski, Director of Product at DuckDuckGo, to cover what Google is actually collecting, why incognito mode doesn't do what most people think, how DuckDuckGo's contextual ads differ from Google's behavioral targeting, and more.

🔗 SOURCES & LINKS
• DuckDuckGo: https://duckduckgo.com
• Duck AI: https://duck.ai
• No-AI DuckDuckGo: https://noai.duckduckgo.com

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

  • (00:00) - INTRO
  • (01:20) - PETER'S BACKGROUND AT MOZILLA
  • (02:56) - EXPLAINING THE ROLE
  • (06:05) - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE GOOGLE
  • (11:31) - ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT DATA ACQUISITION
  • (14:32) - "DO NOT TRACK ME" & INCOGNITO MODE
  • (16:29) - GOOGLE VS. DDG SEARCH PRIVACY
  • (20:08) - PERSONALIZATION
  • (23:12) - WHAT DATA DDG COLLECTS
  • (25:00) - SEARCH ENGINE AGE VERIFICATION
  • (26:01) - THREAT MODEL/TARGET USER
  • (29:04) - MAXIMALIST PRIVACY VS. PRIVACY FOR ALL
  • (32:48) - DDG SEARCH IN iOS SETTINGS
  • (34:55) - REVENUE & ADS
  • (38:39) - PRODUCT EXPANSION
  • (41:33) - WHY THE DDG ECOSYSTEM?
  • (44:06) - EPHEMERAL BROWSING
  • (48:10) - DDG BROWSER TECHNOLOGY
  • (50:33) - EXTENSION SUPPORT
  • (54:29) - WHY PLATFORM-BASED?
  • (56:55) - PASSKEYS
  • (57:24) - PROGRESSIVE WEB APPS
  • (58:42) - FINGERPRINTING
  • (01:00:42) - OPEN SOURCE
  • (01:01:58) - APP TRACKING PROTECTION
  • (01:08:37) - MICROSOFT CONTROVERSY
  • (01:11:06) - AI
  • (01:15:14) - NO AI
  • (01:16:51) - PERSISTENT ID?
  • (01:18:29) - WHAT'S MISSING IN THE ECOSYSTEM?
  • (01:21:09) - WHAT'S NEXT?
  • (01:22:24) - HOW TO FOLLOW

🎥 VIDEO
Watch on YouTube

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