DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai vs VPN Proxy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai
This privacy-focused browser and search engine blocks trackers, ads, and cookie pop-ups. It offers private AI chat and optional email protection. Take control of your personal information with a tool designed for data protection, not collection.
- Private search engine
- Tracker blocking
- Ad blocking (YouTube, web)
- Private AI chat
- Optional email protection
- HTTPS enforcement
- Fingerprinting protection
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At DuckDuckGo, we believe the best way to protect your personal information from hackers, scammers, and privacy-invasive companies is to stop it from being collected at all. That's why millions of people choose DuckDuckGo over Chrome and other browsers to search and browse online. Our built-in search engine is like Google but never tracks your searches. Our browser blocks YouTube ads, invasive web ads, and cookie pop-ups, reducing distractions and helping to stop other companies from collecting your data. While our optional integrated AI features, Search Assist and Duck.ai, are private and never use your data to train AI. Oh, and our browser is free. We make money from privacy-respecting search ads, not by exploiting your data. Take back control of your personal information with the browser designed for data protection, not data collection. FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS Protect Your Searches by Default: DuckDuckGo Search comes built-in, so you can easily search online without being tracked. Shield Your Browsing History: Our 3rd-Party Tracker Loading Protection blocks most trackers before they load, greatly exceeding what most popular browsers offer by default. Chat Privately With AI: Duck.ai lets you have private conversations with 3rd-party AI models, anonymized by us and never used to train AI. Secure Your Email (Optional): Use Email Protection to block most email trackers and hide your existing email address with @duck.com addresses. Block Ads: Our browser blocks YouTube Ads, and stops invasive trackers from loading on sites, effectively eliminating targeted ads. Automatically Enforce Encryption: Shield your data from network and Wi-Fi snoopers by forcing many sites to use an HTTPS connection. Escape Fingerprinting: Make it harder for companies to create a unique identifier for you by blocking attempts to combine info about your browser and device. Sync and Back Up Securely (Optional): Sync encrypted bookmarks and passwords across your devices. Clear your tabs and browsing data in a flash with the Fire Button. Banish cookie pop-ups and automatically set your preferences to minimize cookies and maximize privacy. And many more protections not available on most browsers, even in private browsing mode, including protection from link tracking, Global Privacy Control (GPC), and more. DUCKDUCKGO SUBSCRIPTION Subscribers get • Our VPN: Secure your connection on up to 5 devices. • Access to advanced AI Models in Duck.ai: Chat privately with AI models built for complex tasks. • Personal Information Removal: Find and remove personal info from sites that store and sell it. • Identity Theft Restoration: If your identity is stolen, we’ll help restore it. DuckDuckGo Subscription Pricing & Terms Payment will be charged automatically to your Apple Account until you cancel, which you can do in app settings. You have the option to provide an email address to activate your subscription on other devices, and we will only use that email address to verify your subscription. For terms of service and privacy policy, visit https://duckduckgo.com/pro/privacy-terms Read more about our free Tracking Protections at https://help.duckduckgo.com/privacy/web-tracking-protections Privacy Policy: https://duckduckgo.com/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://duckduckgo.com/terms Note about 3rd-Party Tracker Protection and Search Ads: while there are some limitations following search ad clicks, viewing ads on DuckDuckGo search is anonymous. Learn more here https://help.duckduckgo.com/privacy/web-tracking-protections Privacy. Simplified. ™
VPN Proxy
This app provides a secure and private browsing experience by masking your IP address and encrypting your internet traffic. It offers unlimited bandwidth and data, with a simple one-tap connection to protect your online activity, especially on public Wi-Fi.
- Unlimited time, data, and bandwidth
- No registration or login required
- No user logs saved
- One-tap VPN connection
- Enhanced online privacy
- Public Wi-Fi protection
- Secure connection to other networks
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VPN Proxy ■ Features: - Unlimited time, Unlimited data, Unlimited bandwidth - No registration or login required - No Log is saved from any users - Simple, one tap connect to VPN - Protect your security and privacy - Support for multiple devices for the same account - Support 9.0 for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) ■ What can I do with a VPN? - Enhance your online privacy and enable you to safely and anonymously browse the Internet - Protect you when using a public WiFi hotspot - Allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet You can be a premium user through auto-renewing subscription: ■ Suggest: * In most countries, it is recommended to use the VMss protocol first, for better stability and connection speed. * When the connection fails, please switch to OpenVPN UDP and OpenVPN TCP protocol in turn. * Switching to different countries may also increase access speed or connection success rate ■ Privacy Policy: *When the user is in normal use, we will not log any logs related to the user. * Only when the user actively fails to connect the connection (requires the user to click the feedback button), we will collect the necessary user connection failure log. *The connection failure log collected is limited to the success rate of our engineers to improve the VPN connection, and will not be shared with any individual or organization.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai at 2.4M against VPN Proxy's 13. DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 43%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and VPN Proxy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai has 2.4M ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai's written reviews are positive against 43% of VPN Proxy's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai | VPN Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.4M ratings) — better | 4.5 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.7% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.4M — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #21 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 256 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DuckDuckGo, Inc. | Meta Word |
Customer experience
DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai
VPN Proxy
Bugs and requests
DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inability to set DuckDuckGo as default browser on iOS
- Refresh button hidden in menu instead of standalone
Requested features
3 requests- Add support for voice search
- Improve tab management and history navigation
- Introduce customizable font and theme options
VPN Proxy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai
- DuckDuckGo (Plus, Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- DuckDuckGo monthly$9.991 Month
- DuckDuckGo (Pro, Monthly)$19.991 Month
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- DuckDuckGo (Pro, Monthly)7 Days trial$19.991 Month
- DuckDuckGo (Plus, Yearly)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- DuckDuckGo annual$99.991 Year
- DuckDuckGo (Pro, Yearly)7 Days trial$199.991 Year
VPN Proxy
- Shield Weekly Vip$4.997 Days
- Shield Weekly Vip3 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Shield Yearly Vip3 Days trial$39.991 Year
Questions
Is DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai free?
Is VPN Proxy free?
Which has better reviews, DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai or VPN Proxy?
Do DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai or VPN Proxy have ads?
Which is updated more often, DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai or VPN Proxy?
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