DuckDuckGo Is Shaking Things Up With A New Privacy-Focused Web Browser

[6Foot2]

Link: DuckDuckGo Is Shaking Things Up With A New Privacy-Focused Web Browser [Forbes.com]

 

For years, people who wanted solid search results without the intense tracking that often accompanies them turned to DuckDuckGo. Soon those same privacy-minded folks will be able to a full-blown DuckDuckGo browser to surf the web.

 

In a new post on the DuckDuckGo blog today, CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg noted that the company will not be building its browser the way Microsoft rebuilt Edge.

 

“Instead of forking Chromium or anything we’re building our desktop app around the OS-provided rendering engines,” he said. The DuckDuckGo browser will be a sort of wrapper around the built-in browsing functionality that Microsoft and Apple already provide in Windows and macOS.

 

It may sound a little strange, but that’s how pretty much every third-party browser you can install on your phone is created — whether it’s an iPhone or Android device.

 

That will allow DuckDuckGo to focus on what the company is best at: building privacy-first experiences for its users. Weinberg states that there will be “no complicated settings, no misleading warnings, no “levels” of privacy protection – just robust privacy protection that works by default, across search, browsing, email, and more.”

 

The jump from desktop search to a full-on browser isn’t as big as it might seem. So much of the browsing experience centers around search. Heck, there a lot of computer users out there who search for a particular website every time they need to get to it rather than using a bookmark or shortcut.

 

This is also how DuckDuckGo got rolling on mobile, starting out as a search app and evolving it into a tabbed experience that’s similar enough to a browser that a lot of users wouldn’t notice the difference.

 

Once you can install the app, you’ll be greeted by an uncomplicated interface that lets you “just browse.” You’ll be browsing faster than you would in Chrome, too, says Weinberg because DuckDuckGo’s browser isn’t bogged down by “unnecessary cruft and clutter.”

 

DuckDuckGo currently has a group of users testing the Mac version of its desktop browser. It’s a closed beta, so you may still have a while to wait before you can try it out yourself.

 

A Windows version is also on the way, though all that’s known for now is that Weinberg says the company is “working on it.”

 

DuckDuckGo currently handles around 100 million searches a day. It’s used by more 27 million people in the U.S. alone and is the #2 browsing app on iOS behind Google Chrome.

[Norphy]

So what rendering engine would be used on Windows then? Trident? Chromium?

 

Slightly odd way of going about it really

[Arthur]

So what rendering engine would be used on Windows then? Trident? Chromium?

Chromium (via Edge WebView2). It's what Microsoft Office uses to embed web content now.

[Arthur]

Click the link for instructions on how to join the beta waitlist.

 

Introducing DuckDuckGo for Mac: A Private, Fast, and Secure Browsing App

 

Introducing DuckDuckGo for Mac

Using an app designed to protect your privacy by default not only reduces invasive tracking, it also speeds up browsing and eliminates many everyday annoyances like cookie consent pop-ups. Here’s what you need to know:

 

• DuckDuckGo for Mac gives you privacy by default. With one download you get our built-in private search engine, powerful tracker blocker, *new* cookie pop-up protection on approximately 50% of sites (with that % growing significantly throughout beta), Fire Button (one-click data clearing), email protection and more – all for free. No complicated privacy settings, just simple privacy protection that works by default.
   
   
  
• DuckDuckGo for Mac is really fast! By using your computer’s built-in website rendering engine (the same one Safari uses), and by blocking trackers before they load (unlike all the major browsers), you’ll get really fast browsing. We’re already faster than Chrome on some graphics performance (using the Motion Mark 1.2. benchmark) and as an additional benefit, by blocking trackers, DuckDuckGo uses about 60% less data than Chrome!
   
   
  
• DuckDuckGo for Mac is built for security. Our built-in Smarter Encryption ensures you navigate to the encrypted (HTTPS) version of a website more often, and our tracker blocking means less exposure to third-party scripts that could try to access your data. And we design our product so that in-app data, like history, bookmarks, and passwords, by default are only stored locally on your device and aren’t accessible to DuckDuckGo.
  

DuckDuckGo for Mac isn't simply a replacement for “Incognito mode” (which isn't actually private!) – instead DuckDuckGo for Mac is designed to be used as an everyday browser that truly protects your privacy. We have the features you expect from a browser like password management, tab management, bookmarks, and more, plus privacy features you’ll love.

 

 

 

[LeMarchand]

I use DDG as my default browser on Android for "browsing" since Firefox stopped allowing you to delete cookies on "swipe up" close (you have to "Quit"). Generally happy with it apart from, as it's not set as default, I occasionally have to remember to copy links from emails etc if I want to go somewhere I need to sign into. Not that I can't sign in on DDG, it's just that I am so invested in FF it's easier to use that.

[jthompson]

Ditto. Been using DDG on Android as the default browser and assistant app for yonks, but occasionally have to share URLs across to FF when needing to do something important. FF has got waaay better on Android recently. Blokada has worked really well for me on Android for blocking ads and trackers system-wide, too.

Not sure DDG fits my needs on desktop, though. FF still my preference there, as I tend to be browsing for a particular purpose or in and out of email.

[Arthur]

DuckDuckGo for Mac beta now open to the public

 

Enjoy browsing again with a fast, sleek browsing app that cleans up the web as you use it, thanks to DuckDuckGo’s unique built-in privacy protections.

 

• New since the closed beta: Duck Player, a YouTube player that helps protect your privacy; password management integration with Bitwarden; upgraded automatic cookie pop-up handling; instant access to built-in Email Protection; and more.
  
• DuckDuckGo for Mac (version 0.30) is available now at duckduckgo.com/mac; new users can import bookmarks and passwords from other browsers and password managers. DuckDuckGo for Windows is in friends and family beta, with a public waitlist beta expected in the coming months.
  

[...]

 

We’re proud of how far DuckDuckGo for Mac has come in this short time, and it will only get better from here! Users will soon be able to sync DuckDuckGo bookmarks and passwords across devices. We’ll also be adding more built-in features that offer native alternatives to more popular extensions. Please keep the feedback coming; we're listening! (You can find the feedback form in the app's three-dot menu, right under the Fire Button.)

 

Before you ask, yes, our Windows browser is still on the way! DuckDuckGo for Windows is in an early friends and family beta, with a private waitlist beta expected in the coming months. (Right now, Mac and Windows are the only desktop platforms we’re focusing on). Stay tuned for updates. And if you’re interested in working on our desktop apps, we’re hiring remotely, worldwide.

Edited October 18, 2022 by Arthur

[LeMarchand]

When I went on DDG this morning (I use it as my main phone browser since Firefox decided to make it so that you have to use the menu to quit and wipe everything rather than swipe up) I was offered a @duck.com forwarding address. It's supposed to autofill and then forward to an actual address of your choosing.

[Arthur]

Now available for Windows...

 

Download: https://duckduckgo.com/windows

 

DuckDuckGo browser beta for Windows bakes in a lot of privacy tools

 

Privacy-focused firm DuckDuckGo has released a public beta of its browser for Windows, offering more default privacy protections and an assortment of Duck-made browsing tools.

 

More than a year after debuting its browser for Mac in private beta, the search engine and tracking antagonist offers many of those same features to a much wider audience. Like its Mac browser, DuckDuckGo (DDG) uses "the underlying operating system rendering API" rather than its own forked browser code. That's "a Windows WebView2 call that utilizes the Blink rendering engine underneath," according to DuckDuckGo's blog post. Fittingly, the browser reports itself as Microsoft Edge at most header-scanning sites.

 

Inside the DuckDuckGo browser, you'll find:

 

• Duck Player, which shows (most) YouTube videos "without privacy-invading ads" and doesn't feed your recommendations
  
• Tracker blocking that DDG cites as "above and beyond" other browsers, including third-party tracker loading.
  
• Enforced encryption
  
• The "fire button" that instantly closes all tabs and clears website data
  
• Cookie pop-up management, automatically selecting a private option and hiding "I accept" pop-ups
  
• Email protection, making it easier to use an auto-forwarding duck.com address on web forms.