DuckDuckGo Browser for Mac Launches in Beta With Emphasis on Privacy and Speed

[MacRumors]

DuckDuckGo is today launching an all-new browser for macOS in beta that is "an all-in-one privacy solution for everyday browsing with no complicated settings, just a seamless private experience," set to rival Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome on the Mac.

Building on the success of the DuckDuckGo browser on the iPhone, DuckDuckGo on the Mac includes a number of privacy features. For starters, DuckDuckGo says that its browser on macOS features a "powerful tracker blocker," email protection, and more, all built-in with no strings attached.

On top of privacy, DuckDuckGo for macOS in beta is "really fast." According to tests conducted by DuckDuckGo, it uses 60% less data than Chrome and is faster than Chrome in some graphics performance tests. DuckDuckGo for macOS is still in beta, and interested users can join the private waiting list here.

Article Link: DuckDuckGo Browser for Mac Launches in Beta With Emphasis on Privacy and Speed

 

[icanhazmac]

Can't wait to try it.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Nice! I love the fact their overall goal is “privacy” that’s exactly how it should be. Seriously, can't wait to download this browser.

 

[dragoon2745]

Is it native M1?

 

[ipedro]

DuckDuckGo has amazing features and it’s my go to search engine. But they’re limiting their reach, and I know it’s superficial, but what is holding them back is their amateur look. Yes, the duck is cute and funny but new users see it and don’t give it a chance because it’s hard to take it seriously. Time for a rebrand.

I wish Apple would acquire them and rename it “Search” or “Siri Search”. Integrate it deeply into iOS and macOS and leave the website up to machine learn from users from other operating systems.

 

[krspkbl]

i use DDG as my main search engine now and have for the last year and a half. i did use their browser on my iphone but it actually doesn't do a good job of blocking trackers. it blocks more trackers than safari but safari is better because you can use extensions.

i used this site to test:

Test Ad Block - Toolz

Looking for an easy way to check the efficiency of your ad blocker?Toolz offers a simple and beautiful design test that allows you to quickly and easily test the performance of current ad/content blocker solution. Intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and use, and the beautiful design...

d3ward.github.io

safari (no extension) = ~13% blocked
ddg = ~46% blocked
safari (w/ blockbear [free] extension) = ~65% blocked
safari (w/ wipr [paid] extension) = ~89% blocked

ddg on iOS doesn't seem to be affected by any extensions installed. i wish there was a way to download extensions for browsers like DDG. so that's why i will stick with Safari. also do we know what the DDG mac browser is built on? Please don't tell me chromium...

edit: they don't use chromium! they are basically using the safari engine. i wonder what they will do if they bring the browser to Windows. they should build it on Firefox.

 

[Diamond Dog]

DuckDuckGo has amazing features and it’s my go to search engine. But they’re limiting their reach, and I know it’s superficial, but what is holding them back is their amateur look. Yes, the duck is cute and funny but new users see it and don’t give it a chance because it’s hard to take it seriously. Time for a rebrand.

I wish Apple would acquire them and rename it “Search” or “Siri Search”. Integrate it deeply into iOS and macOS and leave the website up to machine learn from users from other operating systems.

I would venture that calling it "Siri Search" would tarish it even more than its current name, given Siri's reputation for being able to provide accurate and relevant information.

 

[ghanwani]

i use DDG as my main search engine now and have for the last year and a half. i did use their browser on my iphone but it actually doesn't do a good job of blocking trackers. it blocks more trackers than safari but safari is better because you can use extensions.

i used this site to test:

Test Ad Block - Toolz

Looking for an easy way to check the efficiency of your ad blocker?Toolz offers a simple and beautiful design test that allows you to quickly and easily test the performance of current ad/content blocker solution. Intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and use, and the beautiful design...

d3ward.github.io

safari (no extension) = ~13% blocked
ddg = ~46% blocked
safari (w/ blockbear [free] extension) = ~65% blocked
safari (w/ wipr [paid] extension) = ~89% blocked

ddg on iOS doesn't seem to be affected by any extensions installed. i wish there was a way to download extensions for browsers like DDG. so that's why i will stick with Safari. also do we know what the DDG mac browser is built on? Please don't tell me chromium...

edit: they don't use chromium! they are basically using the safari engine. i wonder what they will do if they bring the browser to Windows. they should build it on Firefox.

DuckDuckGo’s Web Browser Won’t Rely on Any Chrome Technology | Digital Trends

DuckDuck Go is developing a new desktop browser, but it won’t be using Chromium. It’s the latest product by the company as it gains traction against Google.

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Let’s be real, unless it’s Tor Browser all these browsers are subjective and data mine at some point while surfing the web. Nice if the browser itself is privacy focused but as soon as you go to a website it’s a coin flip.

Using the most private browser in the world doesn’t mean jack if your first stop is YouTube or Facebook.

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

i use DDG as my main search engine now and have for the last year and a half. i did use their browser on my iphone but it actually doesn't do a good job of blocking trackers. it blocks more trackers than safari but safari is better because you can use extensions.

i used this site to test:

Test Ad Block - Toolz

Looking for an easy way to check the efficiency of your ad blocker?Toolz offers a simple and beautiful design test that allows you to quickly and easily test the performance of current ad/content blocker solution. Intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and use, and the beautiful design...

d3ward.github.io

safari (no extension) = ~13% blocked
ddg = ~46% blocked
safari (w/ blockbear [free] extension) = ~65% blocked
safari (w/ wipr [paid] extension) = ~89% blocked

ddg on iOS doesn't seem to be affected by any extensions installed. i wish there was a way to download extensions for browsers like DDG. so that's why i will stick with Safari. also do we know what the DDG mac browser is built on? Please don't tell me chromium...

edit: they don't use chromium! they are basically using the safari engine. i wonder what they will do if they bring the browser to Windows. they should build it on Firefox.

What is wipr?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

What is wipr?

It’s an adblocker. Not a particular good one in its free format. AdGuard is the way to go for all things Apple and if you use a Chromium browser either AdGuard or uBlock Origin. They are all free.

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

What is wipr?

Pls disregard - I found it

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

It’s an adblocker. Not a particular good one in its free format. AdGuard is the way to go for all things Apple and if you use a Chromium browser either AdGuard or uBlock Origin. They are all free.

Thanks. I like safari on Mac and iOS but it’s just buggy on certain web sites. I like real ad-blocking if I’m paying for it

 

[2WheelsGood]

And just like that, macrumors jumped on the censorship bandwagon and whittled my post down to nothing to fit their narrative. ??

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm aware of some of the things they did the past couple months, but they're better than most.

 

[Bustycat]

Firefox + DuckDuckGo should be the best combination if you really concern Google.

 

[quaresma]

Disappointed with the choice of rendering engine. The fact that it’s based on WebKit means it will have the same problems as Safari.

Brave is based on Blink/Chromium but without all the Google tracking.

 

[antiprotest]

Does anyone know how DuckDuckGo makes money?

 

[_Spinn_]

Very nice! DDG has taken an interesting approach of just writing a browser "wrapper" around the native OS rendering engine (basically what iOS requires them to do anyway).

 

[testcard]

I’ll give it a try.

 

[FelineTech]

Safari plus 1Blocker is a fantastic combination. I have a lifetime subscription to 1Blocker. Works across Mac, iPad, iPhone. Supports family sharing too.

It blocks trackers, cookies, ads, etc. And because it uses the Safari plug-in architecture, 1Blocker doesn't "read" your webpages. It instead sets all of the rules that Safari will use (what parts of the HTML to ignore), so 1Blocker doesn't need to have access to your data. (Wipr works in a similar way).

And yes, once you have Safari exclude all the trackers, ads etc, all webpages load faster!! You can always set your default search engine to DDG to avoid Google as well.

 

[deathcab]

Interested to give this a try. I've been using Brave but always looking for good alternatives. I will say, DuckDuckGo's search has always been somewhat lacking in my experience (good and usable with a strong focus on privacy, but still lagging behind the quality of results you can get on the data-mining searches like Google or even Bing for that matter).

It honestly makes me wonder if some level of data exchange is needed to provide good, tailored, focused search results, though I hope that's not the case (and can only imagine they could use aggregated data on a larger scale to enhance relevancy).

 

[Jensend]

The only way to have a completely neutral search engine would be to basically have it do a “CMD-F” search of the internet and return results in a random order. That would be completely useless beyond the novelty factor.

 

[ghanwani]

Does anyone know how DuckDuckGo makes money?

It's in their FAQ on their webpage. Non-targeted advertising.

 

[bluecoast]

Excited to try this. By using the OS level web engine, DDG is obviously hoping to be in the Mac App Store.

I don't mind that it hasn't got extensions - this is obviously a browser for privacy conscious 'regular' people and I doubt that 'regular' people install extensions that aren't anything to do with privacy (I'll count myself as a 'regular' person in this regard).

Search engine ranking isn't pushing 'the truth' to the top of search results - just those that have excellent SEO.

I'm glad that DDG is actively working against those who are using SEO to push obvious falsehoods, personally.