DuckDuckGo launches privacy-focused @duck.com email forwarding

DuckDuckGo is a pretty cool company that focuses heavily on privacy. Its claim to fame is its search engine that aims to compete with the likes of Google and Bing, but without tracking you. Believe it or not, its search results are pretty good comparatively, although Google still edges it out.

Over time, DuckDuckGo has launched its own web browser and browser extensions, constantly trying to keep humans safe from the eyes of "Big Tech." And now the company announces its latest creation -- @duck.com email accounts.

Before you get too excited, no, DuckDuckGo has not launched a full-fledged email service, although it is handing out free email addresses. Instead, these @duck.com email addresses are merely forwarding accounts. You set up the @duck.com address to forward emails to your existing email address, such as @gmail.com, @outlook.com, or @icloud.com to name a few.

"Our free email forwarding service removes email trackers and protects the privacy of your personal email address without asking you to change email services or apps. Most existing email privacy solutions come with significant tradeoffs. You either have to switch email services or apps entirely, or degrade your email experience by hiding all images. We believe protecting your personal information from leaking to third parties should be simple and seamless," says DuckDuckGo.

Sounds cool, but why would you want to route your emails through DuckDuckGo? Great question! The company promises to scan your emails for tracking information, strip it out, and then forward the messages along. It is quite a good idea in theory -- as long as you trust DuckDuckGo.

Should you route your emails through DuckDuckGo servers, though? Well, that is debatable. Only you can decide if that truly makes your emails more private. Look, If DuckDuckGo gets infiltrated by hackers, or middleman malware gets installed on its servers, it is possible that your emails could be read by bad guys. Ultimately, you are adding an extra failure point from a security standpoint in the hopes of being more private.

With all of that said, DuckDuckGo promises not to save your emails. The company says, "We believe the content of your emails is none of our business, so DuckDuckGo will never save your emails for this service. We don't need to! When we receive an email, we immediately remove trackers from it and then forward it to you, never saving it on our systems."

To sign up for a @duck.com email forwarding account, you must install DuckDuckGo on your Android device or iPhone. Then, from within the settings, you can join the waitlist after tapping on Email Protection -- yes, you must wait for an invitation.

You will notice that the service is technically still in beta, but we here at BetaNews have already received an invite and found it to work quite well. If you have any questions or feedback, please share them in the comments below.

Image credit: Rohit Dhanaji Shinde / Shutterstock