Podcast · Tech & Science

Inside DuckDuckGo

by DuckDuckGo · English · Tech & Science

Behind the scenes with the DuckDuckGo team — sharing insights on product, engineering, leadership, and AI. insideduckduckgo.substack.com

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 19 min
Latest: 7 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026 · 13 min

Duck Tales: The performance review process at DuckDuckGo (Ep.47)

In this episode, Jeffrey (Operations) and Anne (People Ops) discuss how performance reviews work in a distributed leadership model, and how the process has scaled as we’ve grown. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are only lightly edited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Jeffrey: Hello everyone, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo. We discuss…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

30 Sep 2026 · 18 min
Duck Tales: The team and process behind DuckDuckGo’s customer support (Ep.46)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and John (Support) discuss our customer support process, why we read all tickets (good or bad), and how we actually use them to improve all aspects of the user experience. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are only lightly edited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the…
23 Sep 2026 · 17 min
Duck Tales: How we use AI at DuckDuckGo while staying true to our principles (Ep.45)
In this episode, Marc (Engineering) and Zach (Data Science) discuss how we use AI internally: our most common uses, how we use it privately, and why our principles matter more when using AI, not less. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are only lightly edited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Marc: Hi, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and…
9 Sep 2026 · 19 min
Duck Tales: DuckDuckGo will find and remove your personal information — like your name and email — from sites that store and sell it (Ep.44)
In this episode, Konrad (Engineering) and Shilpa (Engineering) discuss Personal Information Removal: what is a data broker, how we remove your records without ever sending your data to our servers, and the ‘whack-a-mole’ of constantly changing data broker sites. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Learn more about the DuckDuckGo Subscription here. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are only lightly edited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack.…
2 Sep 2026 · 20 min
Duck Tales: The 3Ds of DuckDuckGo. Delight, discovery, and dependability (Ep.43)
In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Beah (Chief Product Officer) discuss our focus on delight, discovery, and dependability (the 3Ds), what they are, and how they shape our day-to-day work. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Show notes : Listen to our episode on Hack Days here. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go…
26 Aug 2026 · 31 min
Duck Tales: 32% of AI users tell AI things they've kept from other people. Our new study on AI's privacy problem (Ep.42)
In this episode, Zac (SVP, User Insights) and Mario (Marketing) discuss our study on the AI privacy problem: from stats and surprises, to AI hot takes, and how DuckDuckGo can help. Show notes : Learn more about the study and our findings here If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Mario: Okay, there we go. Hey everyone. Welcome to…
5 Aug 2026 · 23 min
Duck Tales: The DuckDuckGo Subscription Pro-tier — private AI for AI power users (Ep.41)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Chris (Partnerships) discuss the DuckDuckGo Subscription: the core protections, private AI, and how the new Pro-tier serves AI power users. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo to discuss the stories,…
29 Jul 2026 · 25 min
Duck Tales: How we're making it easier to use Duck.ai, our private AI chat. (Ep.40)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Mihai (Design) discuss how the Duck.ai team prioritizes what to build, how we use research and user feedback, and a demo of recent UX updates. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the…
22 Jul 2026 · 17 min
Duck Tales: How we use mental models and operational defaults to improve decision making (Ep.39)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Marc (VP, Engineering) discuss how we create, communicate, and challenge operational defaults to make better decisions at speed. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, the…
15 Jul 2026 · 16 min
Duck Tales: Our first major Duck.ai ad, and how we develop creative at DuckDuckGo (Ep.38)
In this episode, Cristina (CMO) and Zack (Senior Director, Marketing) discuss our new Duck.ai ad, how we develop, test, and measure creative and campaigns, and why we do a lot of the work in-house. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Cristina: Hi, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss…
8 Jul 2026 · 12 min
Duck Tales: The DuckDuckGo browser now blocks ads on YouTube videos, so you can watch without interruption (Ep.37)
In this episode, Peter (Product) and Dave (Privacy) discuss YouTube Ad Blocking, why we built it, how it works, and how it differs from Duck Player. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected]. Show notes: Ad Blocking is enabled by default for Mac, iOS and Windows browsers. It will be enabled by default for Android soon, but for now can be…
1 Jul 2026 · 22 min
Duck Tales: AI in the DuckDuckGo browser — private, useful & optional (Ep.36)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Aitor (Engineering) discuss AI in the DuckDuckGo browser, including how we’re integrating Duck.ai, our private AI chat. Plus, why it’s important we make AI not just easy to access, but easy to dial down or turn off entirely. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected] Beah: Hello, and…
24 Jun 2026 · 14 min
Duck Tales: AI optionality, and why DuckDuckGo installs are up ~40% since Google swapped search for AI mode (Ep.35)
In this episode, Cristina (Chief Marketing Officer) and Kamyl (Chief Comms & Public Affairs Officer) discuss the AI announcements of Google I/O, our response, and how our long-term stance on AI optionality led to rapid and record growth. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected] Cristina: Hi, and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind…
17 Jun 2026 · 14 min
Duck Tales: Voice-mode in Duck.ai. The private, hands-free way to chat with popular AIs (Ep.34)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Fran (Engineering) discuss voice-mode in Duck.ai, common use cases, and how it’s private. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected] Beah: Hello, welcome to another episode of Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology, and people that help…
10 Jun 2026 · 14 min
Duck Tales: How we've made it easier to generate images privately in Duck.ai (Ep.33)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Matej (Engineering) discuss the evolution of image generation in Duck.ai, UX improvements, and the challenge of balancing output quality and speed. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected] Beah: Hi, welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the…
3 Jun 2026 · 24 min
Duck Tales: Dax (our mascot) is coming to the physical world, on shoes, shirts, and security keys (Ep.32).
In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Dan (Brand Strategy) discuss our first set of branded collaborations, where the idea came from, and why people would rep Dax in public. Show notes : Shop the collaborations here Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. If you have feedback on Duck Tales, or episode ideas, email us at [email protected] Gabriel: Hello again. Welcome to Duck Tales, the show where we delve into all…
20 May 2026 · 19 min
Duck Tales: The role of user research, A/B testing, and "dogfooding" at DuckDuckGo (Ep.31)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Zac (SVP, Insights) discuss our approach to user research, how we run robust research while respecting user privacy, and why moving quickly matters. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello and welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology, and people that help build privacy tools for everyone. In each…
13 May 2026 · 14 min
Duck Tales: How DuckDuckGo provides useful “near me” search results, while keeping your location private.
In this episode, Greg and John (Search) discuss local search results, and how we help you find local cafes, restaurants, and business, without knowing your precise location. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Greg: Hello and welcome to DuckTales where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology and people that help build privacy tools for everyone. In each episode, you’ll hear from…
6 May 2026 · 12 min
Duck Tales: How DuckDuckGo uses data science to measure marketing effectiveness, privately (Ep.29)
In this episode, Cristina (CMO) and Baran (Data Science) discuss our privacy-first approach to marketing measurement, the role of incrementality, and how the team operates day to day. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Cristina: Hi, and welcome to DuckTales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology, and people that help build privacy tools for everyone. In each episode, you’ll…
29 Apr 2026 · 20 min
Duck Tales: The fire button, a delightful way to delete your browsing data (Ep.28)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Sveta (Design) discuss the fire button, the recent redesign, and how it improves both user privacy and delight. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Beah: Hello, welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology, the people that help build privacy tools for everyone. In each episode, you’ll hear from employees about…
22 Apr 2026 · 17 min
Duck Tales: How we privately sync bookmarks, passwords & AI chats across your devices, without you needing an account (Ep.27)
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Emanuele (Engineering) discuss Sync — which lets you have consistent bookmarks, passwords, and AI chats across devices — how it’s unique from a privacy perspective, and what’s coming next. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Beah: Hi, welcome to Duck Tales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology and people that help build privacy…
8 Apr 2026 · 19 min
Duck Tales: How we build, design, and trigger instant answers on DuckDuckGo search (Ep.26)
In this episode, Greg (Product) and Karl (Design Engineering) discuss how we build, design and decide when to show Instant Answers. Plus, how we’re balancing instant answers with optional AI generated answers. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Greg: Hello and welcome to DuckTales where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology and people that help build privacy tools for everyone. In…
1 Apr 2026 · 20 min
Duck Tales: Hack Days at DuckDuckGo — why we do them, and the role of trust (Ep.25)
In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Julia (People Operations) discuss hack days (our version of a hackathon), how we encourage participation, and some of the product changes it’s led to. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Gabriel: Hello everybody. Welcome to Duck Tales again. I’m Gabriel, the founder of DuckDuckGo. And with me today is Julia. Julia, do you want to introduce yourself? Julia: Yeah, I’m Julia. I am…
25 Mar 2026 · 14 min
Duck Tales: DuckDuckGo browser updates — custom themes and password manager (Ep.24)
In this episode, Peter (Product), Stephen (Design) and Balint (Windows) discuss updates to our browsers, from the most popular custom themes, to why over 40% of our iOS users have made DuckDuckGo their system-wide password manager. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy . Peter: Hi, and welcome to DuckTales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, the technology, and the people that help build…
18 Mar 2026 · 20 min
Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo is giving users a choice about if and how they use AI (Ep.23)
In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Zac (SVP, Insights) discuss AI adoption, common user concerns, and why we’re building AI that users can control and customize. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Gabriel: Hello, welcome back to Duck Tales. I’m Gabriel, founder of DuckDuckGo. I have with me today Zac Pappis. Zac: Yep, I’m Zac. I’ve been here for about 14 years now, so I think we’ve had the pleasure of working…
11 Mar 2026 · 13 min
Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo is building its own web search index (Ep.22)
In this episode, Gabriel (Founder) and Caine (CTO, first employee) discuss the history of our search engine, why now is the right time to build a full web search index, and how our scale makes us uniquely positioned to ship, learn and iterate quickly. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Gabriel: Hello, welcome back to Duck Tales. I haven’t been here in a while. And I am Gabriel Weinberg, the founder of DuckDuckGo. And I…
4 Mar 2026 · 22 min
Duck Tales: Browser onboarding — why first impressions matter, user education, and the role of personality (Ep.21)
This episode, Mary (Associate VP, Brand) Beah (Chief Product Officer) and Bobby (Director, Product) discuss how DuckDuckGo’s browser onboarding was designed, why it matters for a privacy browser, and how Dax’s personality helps users feel confident in their protections. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Mary: Hi everyone and welcome to Duck Tales where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss stories,…
25 Feb 2026 · 28 min
Duck Tales: How we work at DuckDuckGo — remote-first, with memorable meetups (Ep20).
In this episode, Beah (Chief Product Officer) and John (People Ops) discuss aynchronous working, no meeting days, and the role of face to face meetups. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Beah: Hello, and welcome to DuckTales, where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology, and people that help build privacy tools for everyone. This is my dog, Friday. He’s appeared in other episodes. So…
18 Feb 2026 · 11 min
Duck Tales: Why DuckDuckGo acquired Removaly to expand its privacy offering (Ep.19)
In this episode, Cristina (CMO) and John (Marketing, previously co-founder of Removaly) discuss the acquisition process, adjusting to DuckDuckGo culture, and how Removaly has informed our customer service and product strategy. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Show notes: Learn more about the DuckDuckGo Subscription , including Personal Information Removal. Cristina Hi, and welcome to DuckTales, where we go behind the…
11 Feb 2026 · 24 min
Duck Tales: Duck Sans — designing a typeface that balances functionality and brand (ep.18)
In this episode, Mary (Senior Director, Brand), and Nirzar (AI Design Lead) discuss why we developed a new typeface, how we implemented it, and its role in communicating our personality. Disclaimers: (1) The audio, video (above), and transcript (below) are unedited and may contain minor inaccuracies or transcription errors. (2) This website is operated by Substack. This is their privacy policy. Mary: Hi everyone and welcome to DuckTales where we go behind the scenes at DuckDuckGo and discuss the stories, technology and people building privacy tools for everyone. I’m Mary. I work on the brand…

About Inside DuckDuckGo

Behind the scenes with the DuckDuckGo team — sharing insights on product, engineering, leadership, and AI. insideduckduckgo.substack.com

Inside DuckDuckGo is a English tech & science podcast from DuckDuckGo. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: DuckDuckGo
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 19 min
Latest episode: 7 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1839957193
Rights: DuckDuckGo

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