Duck.ai: Models, Privacy, Limits and Plans
Duck.ai offers free AI chats without an account. Here’s what models, usage limits, privacy protections and paid plans DuckDuckGo lists.
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Duck.ai is an AI chat service from DuckDuckGo, the search engine that says it does not track users. You can chat with several models for free, including Claude Haiku and smaller models from OpenAI and Mistral, without creating an account at duck.ai. DuckDuckGo removes your IP address from prompts before passing them to model providers, which agree not to store conversations or use them to train models. More capable models are available with a paid DuckDuckGo subscription. Details are based on DuckDuckGo help pages checked on October 30, 2026.
Models available in Duck.ai
| Plan | Models listed by DuckDuckGo |
|---|---|
| Free | Claude 4.5 Haiku (Anthropic), Mistral Small 4, GPT-6 Luna and GPT-5.4 mini (OpenAI), gpt-oss-120b and Gemma 4 31B (both through Tinfoil) |
| Plus | Everything in the free plan, plus GPT-5.6 Terra and Claude Sonnet 5.5 |
| Pro | Everything in Plus, plus Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.6 Sol, a higher reasoning level and twice the limits of Plus |
These are not the latest versions available directly from their makers. For example, Duck.ai does not include Claude Opus 5.5 or GPT-6.1. You are paying for privacy, not access to the models at the top of the rankings.
Duck.ai usage limits
- Free: DuckDuckGo says there is a daily usage limit but does not specify a number of messages.
- Plus: A higher limit than the free version.
- Pro: Twice the Plus limit.
- Subscribers have daily and weekly limits. After you reach the daily limit, you may be able to continue chatting using the weekly allowance. The daily limit resets at midnight UTC, and the weekly limit resets every Sunday at midnight UTC.
- You can check your current usage in Duck.ai settings.
Duck.ai subscription plans
Duck.ai is included with DuckDuckGo subscriptions. The features listed for each plan are:
| Plan | What you get |
|---|---|
| Plus | More capable models in Duck.ai, a higher usage limit, VPN and help with identity theft |
| Pro | Everything in Plus, plus Claude Opus 4.8, GPT-5.6 Sol, higher reasoning and twice the usage limits |
The service for removing personal information from data-broker websites is available only in the US. Check DuckDuckGo’s current subscription page for plan availability and pricing where you live.
How private is Duck.ai?
- IP address: DuckDuckGo removes it before sending a prompt to a model provider. It estimates your region from your IP address but says it does not store your IP address or precise location.
- What providers receive: The current date, time zone and preferred system of measurement. DuckDuckGo says it does not share personal information.
- Conversation storage: Providers are required to delete prompts and responses immediately after generating a response. According to DuckDuckGo’s help pages, OpenAI and Anthropic may keep conversations in memory for up to an hour, without writing them to disk. Anthropic may also retain data when required by law or to address abuse.
- Model training: All providers have agreed not to train models on conversations from Duck.ai.
- Chat history: Recent conversations are stored locally on your device, not on DuckDuckGo’s servers. You can delete them individually or use the Fire Button. You can pin up to five conversations; pinned chats are not deleted by Duck.ai’s Fire Button.
- Files: Images and files are not stored unless a system flags them as child sexual abuse material. In that case, they are retained and reported to the authorities.
DuckDuckGo says it stores a conversation only if you submit it as product feedback or use Sync & Backup, where your data is end-to-end encrypted.
Duck.ai compared with other AI chats
| What you need | Option to consider |
|---|---|
| A quick question without an account or chat history | Duck.ai |
| A top-tier model, long files or image generation | A paid plan from ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini |
| Full control over your data, with no internet connection | A model running locally on your computer |
How to turn off Duck.ai
- Remove the Duck.ai button in the DuckDuckGo browser from the browser settings.
- Hide Duck.ai buttons in search results from the search settings, under AI features (duckduckgo.com/settings#aifeatures).
- DuckDuckGo also offers a separate search experience without AI features, which its help pages describe as noai.duckduckgo.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is Duck.ai free?
Yes. The free version includes several models and a daily limit, but DuckDuckGo does not publish the limit as a number. More capable models are included with Plus and Pro subscriptions.
Do you need an account to use Duck.ai?
You can use the free version at duck.ai without creating an account. A subscription requires an account and activation.
Is Duck.ai private?
DuckDuckGo says prompts are sent to model providers without your IP address or personal information, and that providers delete them after responding. There are exceptions: OpenAI and Anthropic may keep conversations in memory for up to an hour, and Anthropic may retain data when required by law.
Which models are free in Duck.ai?
Claude 4.5 Haiku, Mistral Small 4, GPT-6 Luna, GPT-5.4 mini, gpt-oss-120b and Gemma 4 31B, according to information checked on October 30, 2026.
Where does Duck.ai store chat history?
Locally on your device. You can delete conversations individually or use the Fire Button, except for up to five chats you have pinned.
Sources
- DuckDuckGo Help: Duck.ai (models, history and how to turn it off)
- DuckDuckGo Help: Duck.ai usage limits
- DuckDuckGo Help: Duck.ai privacy
- DuckDuckGo Help: What information does Duck.ai share with model providers?
- DuckDuckGo Help: Plus and Pro plan differences
- DuckDuckGo Help: How much does DuckDuckGo cost?
Checked: October 30, 2026
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