DuckDuckGo Private Browser

Last updated
DuckDuckGo Private Browser
Engines Blink (Android, Windows) [1]
WebKit (iOS, macOS) [1]
Operating system Android, iOS, macOS, Windows
License Freeware (the underlying WebView components provided by the operating systems) though DuckDuckGo's custom code for Android and iOS is shared with an Apache-2.0 license [2] [3]
Website https://duckduckgo.com/app

DuckDuckGo Private Browser is a web browser created by DuckDuckGo. [4] It is a privacy-oriented browser available for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. [5]

Contents

The core browser functionality is the WebView component provided by the operating system. [1] This means the browser engine is Blink on Android and Windows, but WebKit on iOS and macOS.

Features

History

DuckDuckGo Private Browser was first released for Android and iOS in 2018. [12] Desktop support began in 2022, with the beta version for macOS. [13] [14] The beta version for Windows was released in 2023. [1] [15]

Controversies

In May 2022, an independent researcher discovered that Microsoft products, like Bing and LinkedIn, contained tracking scripts that were not blocked by the browser. [16] DuckDuckGo's founder and CEO explained the company was "currently contractually restricted by Microsoft" due to their use of Bing's data to power the DuckDuckGo search engine. [17] In August 2022, however, the company announced that they would block Microsoft trackers. [18]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Purdy, Kevin (2023-06-22). "DuckDuckGo browser beta for Windows bakes in a lot of privacy tools". Ars Technica . Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  2. "DuckDuckGo Android App Github repository". github.com. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. "DuckDuckGo iOS App Github repository". github.com. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. "Does DuckDuckGo make a browser?". duckduckgo.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. "Download the DuckDuckGo browser app". duckduckgo.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  6. "Your Connection is Secure with DuckDuckGo Smarter Encryption". Spread Privacy: The Official DuckDuckGo Blog. November 19, 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  7. "HTTPS Everywhere Now Uses DuckDuckGo's Smarter Encryption". EFF: Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  8. Weatherbed, Jess (2022-10-18). "DuckDuckGo for Mac is now an open beta". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  9. "Stop Trackers Dead: The Best Private Browsers for 2023". PCMAG. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  10. Weatherbed, Jess (2022-11-16). "DuckDuckGo has opened up its App Tracking Protection beta". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  11. "Introducing DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection for Android". Spread Privacy. 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  12. "2018 in Review". DuckDuckGo. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  13. Matt Burgess (12 April 2022). "DuckDuckGo's Privacy Browser Finally Lands on Desktop". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  14. Emma Roth (12 April 2022). "DuckDuckGo's privacy-centric browser arrives on Mac". The Verge. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  15. Pierce, David (2023-06-22). "DuckDuckGo's privacy-focused browser is available for Windows now". The Verge . Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  16. Spadafora, Anthony (2022-05-26). "DuckDuckGo browser is not as private as you think — here's why". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  17. Claburn, Thomas (25 May 2022). "DuckDuckGo: Why our browsers won't block Microsoft trackers". The Register. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  18. Benjamin, Adam (August 24, 2023). "DuckDuckGo: What to Know About Google Search's Privacy-Focused Rival". CNET. Retrieved 2023-08-23.