Best for DuckDuckGo
Residential proxies
from $0.27/GB
Each request can leave from a different home IP in the country you target, and a sticky session keeps one IP for up to 24 hours when you browse by hand.
Sites & services
DuckDuckGo Proxy How to Set It Up and Which Type to Use
DuckDuckGo works on
- Web
- Windows
- macOS
- Android
- iOS
Key facts
Built-in proxy setting
None that DuckDuckGo documents. Its browser for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android has no proxy field in settings and doesn't take extensions, so it uses the operating system's proxy.
How DuckDuckGo picks your location
DuckDuckGo estimates a rough location from your IP address for local results and doesn't store the IP. Behind a proxy, local results follow the proxy's location. A region picked in the region menu overrides that.
Android VPN slot
Android allows one active VPN connection at a time. App Tracking Protection and DuckDuckGo VPN both take that slot, so a proxy client app that connects through a local VPN won't run while either is on.
Ways to route DuckDuckGo through a proxy
The method depends on where you search. The DuckDuckGo browser follows the system proxy, other browsers can use an extension, and scripts take the proxy in code.
| Name | Works In | Auth | Blocking Resistance | Best For | Where To Get |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System proxy (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android Wi-Fi) | The DuckDuckGo browser and other browsers that follow the system proxy, such as Chrome, Edge and Safari | HTTP or HTTPS; login fields only on macOS and iOS | Same as the IP behind it | Searching in the DuckDuckGo browser on your own computer | Geonode residential or ISP proxies; Geonode free list |
| Browser extension in Chrome, Firefox or Edge | duckduckgo.com opened in the browser that has the extension; not the DuckDuckGo browser | HTTP or HTTPS with username and password. SOCKS5 with a login works only in Firefox. | Same as the IP behind it | DuckDuckGo search behind a proxy while other apps stay direct | Geonode browser extension with Geonode residential proxies |
| Proxy in code (Python requests, Scrapy, Puppeteer) | Scripts that request html.duckduckgo.com or duckduckgo.com result pages | http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@host:port in the proxy URL | Same as the IPs behind it | Collecting search results for SEO and keyword research | Geonode rotating residential proxies |
Which proxy type to use with DuckDuckGo
For personal searching, any working IP is fine. For scraping, what matters is how many distinct IPs the queries are spread over.
Good for daily browsing
ISP proxies
from $1.25/IP
One fixed IP keeps local results in the same city every day. In a scraper, that single address hits the rate limit fast.
Light use
Datacenter proxies
from $0.14/GB
Shares IP ranges with hosting companies, so it gets challenged sooner than residential when you send a lot of queries.
Testing only
Free public proxies
Free
Many users share each free proxy and many go offline within hours. Fine for checking that a setup works.
How to set up a proxy for DuckDuckGo
Copy the proxy host (hostname or IP), port, username and password from your Geonode dashboard before you start.
Open Settings > Network & internet > Proxy.
Under Manual proxy setup, click Set up next to Use a proxy server.
Turn on Use a proxy server.
Enter the host in Proxy IP address and the number in Port.
Click Save.
Restart the DuckDuckGo browser and open duckduckgo.com. If a sign-in prompt appears, enter the proxy username and password.
Check detailed instructions on our blog:
Read the blog postHow to check that the proxy works
Open Geonode's What is my IP page in the DuckDuckGo browser. It should show the proxy IP and country, not yours.
Search for weather on duckduckgo.com. Local results and the region menu should match the proxy's country.
For a script, request the What is my IP page through the same proxy and print the IP before the real queries.
How to turn the proxy off
Windows: in Settings > Network & internet > Proxy, click Edit next to Use a proxy server and turn it off. macOS: in Details > Proxies, turn off Web proxy and Secure web proxy, then click OK.
iOS: in Settings > Wi-Fi, tap (i) next to the network, tap Configure Proxy, select Off and tap Save.
Android: set Proxy back to None in the Wi-Fi network's Advanced options, or tap Disconnect in the proxy client app.
Scripts: remove the proxies option or the --proxy-server flag.
Common DuckDuckGo proxy problems and fixes
'Unfortunately, bots use DuckDuckGo too' instead of results
- Too many queries from one IP, or a shared IP that others already flagged
- Switch to a new residential IP and follow the scraping steps above. In a browser, solve the challenge or switch to another IP.
CauseFixResults are for the wrong country
- A region picked in the region menu, or a kl value in the URL, overrides the IP lookup
- Set the region menu to the proxy's country, or remove kl from the URL. With Geonode residential, set the country in the proxy username.
CauseFixDuckDuckGo browser on Windows can't connect with the proxy
- The proxy needs a username and password, and Windows has no fields to store them
- Open duckduckgo.com in Chrome, Firefox or Edge with the Geonode extension, which saves the login. Or set the proxy on macOS, where the system settings store the password.
CauseFix407 Proxy Authentication Required
- Wrong username or password, or the fields were left empty
- Re-enter the credentials exactly as issued. With Geonode, that means the proxy credentials from the dashboard, not your account login.
CauseFix
More for DuckDuckGo users
DuckDuckGo proxy FAQ
A proxy server that your browser or script goes through when it loads DuckDuckGo, so DuckDuckGo sees the proxy's IP address instead of yours. DuckDuckGo has no proxy you can route your own traffic through. Its image proxy (external-content.duckduckgo.com) only hides your IP from the sites that host result images.
No. It has no proxy field and doesn't support extensions. Set the proxy in Windows, macOS, iOS or Android and the browser picks it up.
No. DuckDuckGo VPN comes with the paid DuckDuckGo subscription, covers the whole device and runs on DuckDuckGo's own servers. A proxy covers only the apps you point at it, and you choose the IP type and country.
Chrome follows the Windows or macOS system proxy. You can also use a proxy extension such as the Geonode extension. Set one of the two, then open duckduckgo.com in Chrome.
Yes. DuckDuckGo shows an image challenge when one IP sends many queries in a row. Rotate residential IPs, send full browser headers and keep the rate per IP low, and most requests get through.
For a quick test, yes. Take an HTTP or HTTPS proxy from the Geonode free proxy list. Expect the bot challenge on the first search fairly often, since free proxies are shared.
DuckDuckGo is blocked in China, North Korea and, since August 2024, Indonesia. Set a proxy in another country in your operating system or browser, then open duckduckgo.com. Web proxy sites such as CroxyProxy rewrite each page, which can break duckduckgo.com's JavaScript or trigger the bot challenge. The no-JavaScript version at html.duckduckgo.com loads through them more reliably.
