DuckDuckGo Working on Privacy-Focused Desktop Browser for Mac

Tuesday December 21, 2021 12:17 pm PST by Juli Clover

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.

Tag: DuckDuckGo

Popular Stories

Apple Launches Two Products Today

Friday November 13, 2026 2:37 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Apple is releasing two new products today, Friday, November 13: the all-new Apple HomeView and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, both of which have been available to pre-order since mid-October. Apple HomeView: Apple's new smart home display, powered by Apple Intelligence with Siri AI, for entertainment and managing the home. Available in tabletop and wall-mounted models, it can recognize up...

• 52 comments

November 20 to Mark the End of an Era at Apple

Wednesday November 11, 2026 7:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple has announced that the long-running Apple Support Community discussion forums for user-to-user tech support will be permanently closing on Friday, November 20. The forums have existed in some form for nearly 30 years, so it is the end of an era. Effective immediately, the Apple Support Community forums are in a read-only state, with new posts no longer being accepted. The final message ...

Apple's Johny Srouji Eyed to Replace Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

Thursday November 12, 2026 4:29 am PST by Hartley Charlton

Apple's chief hardware officer Johny Srouji is being considered as a potential successor to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as the chipmaker's board prepares to remove its co-founder, according to Semafor. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the publication identified Srouji as one of the people under consideration for Nvidia's top job. It is unclear if Srouji has yet been approached or...

• 114 comments

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️

64 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

64 months ago

This is going to be big!
Can't wait to get it on the mac!

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

B4U

64 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

64 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

64 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)