DuckDuckGo Search Engine Features

If people know about the DuckDuckGo search engine, it’s usually because of its strong focus on privacy. Unlike Google or Yandex, DuckDuckGo doesn’t collect user data, but its search results aren’t always as good. We’ve even compared it to other anonymous search engines in the past.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that DuckDuckGo is a powerful tool that can make finding information online much easier and faster. To start, DuckDuckGo isn’t exactly a search engine in the traditional sense. In fact, it’s more of an aggregator that pulls answers from various search engines. It uses results from Yahoo, Bing, Yummly, Yandex, Wikipedia, and hundreds of other “trusted” sources.

This feature makes DuckDuckGo very accurate if its sources contain information relevant to your query. It can easily provide comprehensive answers to queries like “linux df,” “long happy life,” “Java InterruptedException,” or even “is it raining.” But if you enter something more complex that isn’t found in DuckDuckGo’s sources, the results can be disappointing, especially compared to Google.

Still, the real highlight of DuckDuckGo is its information sources and, more specifically, its advanced feature called Instant Answers. This is one of the main things that sets DuckDuckGo apart and is worth exploring.

Instant Answers in DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo’s Instant Answers are similar to Google’s quick answer boxes: if you enter a specific query and the search engine knows the exact answer, it will display it right away, saving you extra clicks.

The difference is that Instant Answers follow simple, well-known rules and can be expanded by users. There are about 1,200 Instant Answer “recipes” in the catalog, allowing DuckDuckGo to respond to a wide variety of queries, especially technical ones.

DuckDuckGo can show quick references for Linux commands (try “linux cheat sheet”), find Debian packages (like “debian version vim”), display your location (“where am i”), show instructions for deleting your account from various services (“delete my facebook account”), tell you who is currently in space (“people in space”), decode emoji meanings, and even show Chuck Norris jokes (“chuck norris jokes”).

Technically, this is a pretty simple system that often won’t work if you slightly change your search query. But in skilled hands, DuckDuckGo can do a lot and even act as a full-fledged command line.

Command Line Capabilities

Among DuckDuckGo’s Instant Answers, you’ll find many features that go beyond simple search. For example, there are cheat sheets for Linux, JavaScript, Vim, and more. These are hardcoded into the search engine, so it doesn’t even need to fetch them from elsewhere.

But there are even more interesting examples:

• IP Address, URL, DNS Records, and Email Validation: A simple query like ip will show your IP address, location, and even postal code—no need to visit other sites.
• Password and Hash Generators: Need a strong password of a certain length? Try password 10. You can also generate a passphrase with random passphrase, encode data with Base64 (base64 encode <text>), or create hashes with md5 <text> or sha <text>. If you have a hash but don’t know the algorithm, use hash <hash>.

Other Useful Features

• Find information about file extensions: file .txt
• Decode numeric UNIX permissions: chmod 755
• Built-in calendar: calendar
• Timer: countdown 10m
• Stopwatch: stopwatch

Search Operators

Like Google, DuckDuckGo supports operators to refine your search. For example:

• Search a specific site: gentoo kernel panic site:linux.org.ru
• Find specific file types: android security report f:.pdf
• Search by page title only: intitle:"iphone 8"
• Exclude words from results: intitle:"iphone 8" -android
• Use AND/OR operators: apple macos OR apple os x

Settings

DuckDuckGo also offers a robust settings system, letting you customize many aspects—from the search window’s appearance (with six themes and the option to create your own) and default map service, to HTTPS settings (enabled by default) and ad display (yes, you can turn off ads using built-in options).

DuckDuckGo Keyboard Shortcuts

• Down/Up — Move to the next/previous search result
• Left/Right — Navigate through Instant Answers
• / or h — Go to the search bar
• t — Go to the top of the page
• o — Open the selected result
• Ctrl + Enter or Cmd + Enter — Open the selected result in a background tab
• d — Search for the phrase on the selected result’s site

DuckDuckGo is much more than just a private search engine—it’s a versatile tool for power users and anyone who values privacy and efficiency online.