The company said its browser will act like any other in its simplicity, but won’t collect information about users and will not install cookies or tracking codes on devices. It can also block “hidden trackers” before they load.
Privacy-centered search engine DuckDuckGo today launched the beta of its desktop browser for macOS. The browser is designed from the ground up to maintain privacy, the company said, meaning it will not collect information about users and will not install cookies or tracking codes on devices. DuckDuckGo also said it can block “hidden trackers” before they load. Duckduckgo first announced plans for a macOS desktop browser in December 2021. (The browser is already available as a download for mobile devices). In 2019, DuckDuckGo added Apple Maps support and has since made other improvements to how it works on Apple devices. “Like our mobile app, DuckDuckGo for Mac is an everyday browsing app with privacy as the default through our built-in privacy protections like private search, tracker blocking, HTTPS upgrading, cookie pop-up management, and our Fire Button,” Beah Burger-Lenehan, product director with DuckDuckGo said via email. “People want broad privacy protections, but in a convenient, easy-to-use package, so that’s exactly what we built.” (Duckduckgo’s so-called “Fire Button” is one-click tool to clear all data in a search window.) Duckduckgo’s privacy feed lets users see who wast trying to track you, lets you clear any stored data from websites you recently visited, and helps you navigate back to recent pages privately. The browser’s cookie pop-up protection works on about 50% of sites, the company said. DuckDuckGo emphasized the browser isn’t a replacement for Google Chrome’s “Incognito mode.
