How to Use DuckDuckGo Email Protection in 2022
Despite the continued popularity of email for personal and business communication, it is one of the least secure methods of communication. It raises a number of privacy issues due to email trackers and spam emails. DuckDuckGo — a privacy-focused search engine — recently announced an email protection service to address these growing security and privacy concerns.
The central theses:
- DuckDuckGo Email Protection is a brand new email forwarding service that detects and removes hidden trackers in emails.
- You don’t need to switch email service when using DuckDuckGo. It forwards emails encrypted and tracker-free to your main email account – known as the forwarding address in DuckDuckGo email protection.
- With DuckDuckGo you can get a personal @duck.com address and unlimited email addresses for one-time use.
The free service offers a secure email experience by detecting and removing trackers in emails sent to it. The DuckDuckGo email protection service is still in beta testing, but the beta opened to the public in August. Let’s take a closer look at the email protection service provided by DuckDuckGo.
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Yes, DuckDuckGo email protection is designed to protect your data from hidden trackers attached to emails.
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DuckDuckGo allows you to create a personal @duck.com address as well as generate a new disposable duck private address.
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DuckDuckGo’s email protection is still in beta and the company hasn’t set a date for the full release yet.
What is DuckDuckGo email protection?
DuckDuckGo Email Protection is a privacy-focused email forwarding service. With it, you can receive incoming emails without sacrificing your privacy. Your data is temporarily stored in a server’s random access memory (RAM), so your e-mails are not permanently stored on the hard drive.
Most email services scan your email for ads and allow third-party email trackers, compromising your privacy and anonymity. In contrast, DuckDuckGo’s email protection service does not collect your data and prevents others from tracking you. The best part is that you get the added security without having to switch email providers.
Free email forwarding service
DuckDuckGo email protection assigns you a free “@duck.com” email address ([email protected]). Before the email is forwarded to your personal inbox, your duck address filters out several types of hidden email trackers. It also provides information on how many trackers were removed and what companies they were associated with.
DuckDuckGo users can create permanent personal email addresses with names of their choice, which will act as the central email address for the account.
DuckDuckGo email protection can also generate random private email addresses for you when it detects email fields on websites. These addresses forward all e-mails to your personal main account. They are one-time use and should only be used to log into that one site. This prevents websites from associating your email address with other information they have about you and creating an advertising profile.
How the DuckDuckGo Email Protection Beta works
Although DuckDuckGo’s free email forwarding service is currently in beta testing, it includes a number of email security features to keep users’ data as safe as possible. Among the latest features added is Smarter Encryption technology, which secures unencrypted email links by upgrading them from insecure HTTP format to HTTPS.
However, the service is still in beta, so there is no guarantee that it will be completely free of bugs or problems. Also, the slow response times of the customer service team can spoil your experience when you encounter an issue.
How to use DuckDuckGo email protection
DuckDuckGo mobile app and browser extension are the two ways you can use the email forwarding service. All you have to do is sign up and create your duck.com address to get started. Once you get your duck email address, you can use it daily to protect your email privacy.
How to sign up for the DuckDuckGo email protection beta
While DuckDuckGo’s features may seem a bit complex, the registration process is quite simple. To further simplify the process for you, we have created a step-by-step guide.
- Download the app and navigate to Email Protection Beta
Download the latest version of DuckDuckGo privacy browser app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Open the appthen go to settings menu. Scroll down and select “Email Protection Beta.”
- Read and accept the DuckDuckGo Email Protection Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
Once clicked, you will be taken to a page that contains DuckDuckGo’s Terms and Conditions “getting started.” After reading the numbered list, click “next” Continue.
- Create your unique duck address
You need to create your unique duck address and enter your real email address – for example your Gmail account.
- Check your forwarding address
DuckDuckGo verifies that you have entered your own and accurate email address as your tracker-free email messages will be sent to that address. Your sign-up process is completed by clicking the link sent to your primary email address or by entering the one-time passphrase within the app.
Using DuckDuckGo email protection
DuckDuckGo offers several other security features in addition to all the standard features provided by regular browsers.
All you have to do is enable the email protection feature in the extension or app and DuckDuckGo will do the rest. When you receive an email, it will be forwarded to your Duck address before it reaches your regular email address. DuckDuckGo filters the email to remove any embedded trackers before sending the email to your primary address.
It has a host of new features and is much easier to use than existing email privacy solutions. For example, many email privacy solutions block all images, but the link tracking protection in DuckDuckGo removes tracking pixels embedded in images without blocking the image itself.
Other private emails may also require you to switch email providers, while DuckDuckGo email protection allows you to use your existing email. In addition, you can easily get a short duck address with your name – even if you have a common name – as DuckDuckGo is still a new service. In contrast, email addresses with common names are almost all used on platforms like Gmail.
Email protection browser extension
Aside from email protection, you can use all of DuckDuckGo’s security features with the browser extension.
You can get the email protection extension by downloading the regular DuckDuckGo extension, then going to the settings page and enabling the email option. The browser extension makes your duck addresses more accessible by auto-filling your personal duck address or generating a private duck address if needed.
There are several other features included in the browser extension. It evaluates the security of each website to ensure you know which websites collect your personal information. Some social media companies store your browser data and IP address using tracking codes, so the website privacy feature blocks embedded social media content.
However, due to its strict anti-tracking technologies, the DuckDuckGo extension may block you from accessing certain websites unless you disable protection on those websites.
DuckDuckGo Mobile Email Protection App
Create as many disposable duck addresses as you want to use on shady websites.
There is no separate app for email protection – you just need to download the privacy browser application DuckDuckGo. Similar to the browser extension, the app offers privacy and anti-tracking features. The mobile app offers a separate “Email Protection” option where you can generate a private address and enable autofill for your personal duck address.
You can also change your forwarding address – primary email account – from the mobile app.
Final Thoughts
According to a Princeton University study in 2018, 70% of mailing list emails contained hidden trackers. DuckDuckGo’s email protection provides extra privacy by filtering out trackers from emails you receive. DuckDuckGo currently offers mobile apps and browser extensions with the free email forwarding service.
The DuckDuckGo email protection service does not require you to have any technical understanding to use it. Do you think DuckDuckGo’s email protection service will be a success? Which aspect of the service do you think is the best? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.