Beta Version Of DuckDuckGo Web Browser With Enhanced Privacy Launched For macOS

DuckDuckGo’s macOS browser with a focus on user privacy has entered into public beta, allowing users to download the privacy-centric browser on their Macs and MacBooks. The new desktop browser brings over a host of privacy-centric features from the mobile apps along with productivity-enhancing features. 

The new DuckDuckGo macOS browser features anti-tracking technology, the company’s own search engine, a cookie popup management system, one-click browser data delete button, and an email protection function that works similar to Apple’s Hide My Email. 

The browser has a built-in smarter encryption that ensures users stay on the HTTPS version of a website more often. The browser also blocks trackers, ensuring less exposure to third party scripts that may access your data. 

The company says personal data like history, bookmarks, passwords are stored locally on the device. “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,” the company said in a statement.

The browser also includes a dedicated player for YouTube called Duck Player which creates a clutter-free interface and presents videos in a distraction-free environment. There’s also a whitespace cleanup feature that removes blank areas on websites left by blocked advertisements. 

To ensure compatibility and privacy, the company said it has built everything from scratch and the browser is not based on a fork of Chromium. “DuckDuckGo for Mac does not fork Chromium (or anything else). Instead, we use the rendering engine that comes with macOS, which is created by Apple and the same rendering engine Safari uses. By building off the macOS rendering engine, our browser should also be most compatible with the Mac system (the same as Safari),” DuckDuckGo said.

The company says the browser uses 60 percent less memory than Google Chrome and blocks trackers before they are able to load. Users can download the new DuckDuckGo browser for Mac from the official website. The company has also promised a Windows version of the privacy-focused browser. It is currently in private beta.