DuckDuckGo Working on Privacy-Focused Desktop Browser for Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

DuckDuckGo Working on Privacy-Focused Desktop Browser for Mac

Popular privacy-first web browser DuckDuckGo is developing a dedicated desktop browser that will be available on the Mac, the company announced today in a year-end wrap-up article.

duckduckgobrowser
DuckDuckGo already offers a browser option that's available on mobile devices, and when it launches, the desktop browser will offer a similar experience.

The DuckDuckGo desktop browser will have "robust privacy protection" that works by default, without requiring users to adjust privacy settings or deal with different levels of privacy protection.

The app will "redefine user expectations of everyday online privacy, according to DuckDuckGo," and it will work across search, browsing, email, and more. The app is described as cleaner, more private, and faster than Chrome.

DuckDuckGo for desktop is being built around OS-provided rendering engines, which is similar to how the DuckDuckGo mobile apps work, and it will not use a Chromium fork like other browser offerings.

The desktop browser is in closed beta testing for the Mac right now, with a PC version also planned in the future. There's no word on a release date just yet, but DuckDuckGo is currently soliciting beta testers.

Popular Stories

Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Promo to Offer Free AirPods Pro 3

Friday May 15, 2026 8:59 am PDT by
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time. AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...
ipad mini 7 blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Thursday May 14, 2026 5:08 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
58 months ago
Thank god. We need this. Privacy- the top priority. Duck is a great browser when it comes to privacy.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
58 months ago
This is going to be big!
Can't wait to get it on the mac!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
58 months ago

In the meantime, I'm loving their "email protection" feature. Got my @duck.com email address that forwards to my real email address. Good to see that they are removing the email trackers. I look forward to this browser. For compatibility, I hope that it's Chromium based.
"DuckDuckGo for desktop is being built around OS-provided rendering engines, which is similar to how the DuckDuckGo mobile apps work, and it will not use a Chromium fork like other browser offerings."

According to the article.
So, not Chromium based.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sudo-sandwich Avatar
58 months ago

Not to hijack the duckduckgo thread, but any recommendations on chrome extensions for privacy?
AdNauseam is the nuclear option. Simulates clicks on all ads to throw off their metrics. Google banned it from their store, but I think you can still install it, or it's also available for Firefox.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
58 months ago

Knowing nothing about it, why is Brave a scam?

Seconding this question?

How is brave a scam?

'Scam' is a big word, any evidence for your claim? source? otherwise fake news!
I think it may be this from last year

https://www.zdnet.com/article/privacy-browser-brave-busted-for-autocompleting-urls-to-versions-it-profits-from/

https://www.pcmag.com/news/brave-browser-caught-redirecting-users-through-affiliate-links
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamcgahey Avatar
58 months ago
I love Safari, but this is great! I love DuckDuckGo. Cheers to the hopeful downfall of Google Search/Chrome!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)