DuckDuckBot
DuckDuckBot is the web crawler used by DuckDuckGo, a search engine that prioritizes user privacy. Its primary function is to discover and index web pages, allowing DuckDuckGo to provide search results. Unlike search engine crawlers that may track user activity or build extensive profiles, DuckDuckBot is designed to minimize data collection. It identifies itself with a user-agent string that includes "DuckDuckBot," making its origin clear to website administrators. The bot respects robots.txt files, a standard protocol that website owners use to specify which parts of their site crawlers are allowed or disallowed to access. This adherence ensures that DuckDuckGo's crawling activities are conducted with the consent of website operators. DuckDuckBot's efficiency and respect for privacy are key components of DuckDuckGo's overall mission to provide a private search experience. By crawling the web and indexing its content without compromising user anonymity, DuckDuckBot contributes to the search engine's ability to offer relevant results while upholding its core privacy principles.