DuckDuckGo launches the public beta of its desktop browser for Mac users
Download the DuckDuckGo public beta for macOS to enjoy built-in protections, watch YouTube privately, block ads and test other new features.
- What’s happening? DuckDuckGo has launched a public beta of its desktop browser for Mac users after having tested the app via a private waitlist.
- Why care? DuckDuckGo is a privacy-first search engine that avoids the filter bubble of personalized search results. Its browser truly protects your privacy.
- What to do? Reaclaim your privacy—download and install the public beta now.
The DuckDuckGo for Mac public beta is here
DuckDuckGo for Mac (version 0.30) is now available in public beta capacity for anyone to download and try out on their Mac. A Windows version of DuckDuckGo will enter a private beta in the coming months, according to the DuckDuck blog.
All of the DuckDuckGo features are available to users at no charge.
This browser adopts a privacy-first approach
When unveiling a private beta in April 2022, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg says the upcoming app wasn’t a dumb replacement for the Incognito mode.
Instead, DuckDuckGo offers many regular features expected from a modern browser, like password and tab management, history, bookmarks and more. DuckDuckGo uses the same WebKit rendering engine that Apple’s Safari browser is based on.
Privacy protections have made DuckDuckGo a popular choice among privacy-first users. Some of the app’s privacy features include an integrated private search engine, an advanced tracker blocker that blocks trackers before they even load, email tracking protection, a one-click browser data clearing, and more.
One of the particularly useful features will prevent Facebook content that embeds trackers from loading by default. Another one is a convenient feed that lets you identify all of the blocked scripts that attempted to track you. From there, you can even clear stored data from websites you recently visited.
Getting rid of the ads
You know how when a content blocker in Safari blocks ads you’re ended up with whitespace left behind blocked ads? Well, the DuckDuckGo browser won’t just kill intrusive ads as you browse, it’ll even clean up that whitespace!
DuckDuckGo has a built-in password manager and auto-fill login credentials. It can create complex passwords for new logins, save addresses and payment methods and more. All that data is encrypted and kept locally on the device.
The app integrates with the open-source password manager Bitwarden and 1Password’s new universal autofill feature. “In the coming weeks, Bitwarden users will be able to activate this seamless two-way integration in their browser settings.”
Watch YouTube privately with Duck Player
Using trackers in embedded code isn’t new, but ad companies still do that to feed their surveillance Moloch. YouTube, for example, continues to serve targeted ads and cookies when you watch a video embedded on websites like iDB.
You can remove Google’s tracking cookie from YouTube videos you embed on the web, but you’re still going to be tracked when watching videos embedded by others.
DuckDuckGo’s Duck Player feature lets you watch YouTube privately. Internal testing showed that Duck Player prevented ads on most YouTube videos altogether.
“Any ads you see within Duck Player will not be personalized,” according to DuckDuckGo. YouTube will still register your views, but they won’t contribute to the advertising profile YouTube has on you.
Watching videos in Duck Player won’t suggest personalized recommendations, which is excellent. You can enable Duck Player for all YouTube videos, for specific ones or set it to kick into action whenever you click a YouTube link.
Can I import my saved bookmarks and passwords?
DuckDuckGo doesn’t store any personal information or browsing data on servers. And to get you up to speed, the app lets you import your saved bookmarks and passwords from other popular browsers and password managers. Syncing DuckDuckGo bookmarks and passwords across devices will arrive at a later stage, the company said. Read: 3 ways to change the default web browser on macOS
How to download DuckDuckGo for macOS
The DuckDuckGo browser is currently in a public beta. When the app launches for all users, it will be available to download through the official website. In the meantime, you can download the DuckDuckGo public beta for macOS at duckduckgo.com/mac.
Only the Mac and Windows versions of DuckDuckGo are in development.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2022/10/20/duckduckgo-public-beta-download/
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