Updates Thread DuckDuckGo privacy-focused desktop browser

[silversurfer]

DuckDuckGo, the company best known for its privacy-focused search engine of the same name, is working on a desktop browser that should bring the same focus on avoiding being tracked to your entire web experience. In a post on its blog, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg offers a glimpse at what the upcoming browser will look like and notes that we can expect it to perform the same way its browsing app does on mobile.

Weinberg explains that the desktop browser will offer “robust privacy protection” by default, without you having to toggle on any hidden security settings. Like the mobile app, the desktop equivalent will come with the same “Fire” button that instantly erases all of your browsing history, stored data, and tabs in one click. It’s also built around “OS-provided rendering engines” — like it is on mobile — which Weinberg says will create a neater interface and get rid of any clutter that comes with mainstream browsers. He also claims that early tests of the browser indicate that it’s “significantly faster” than Google Chrome.

“macOS and Windows both now offer website rendering APIs (WebView/WebView2) that any application can use to render a website. That’s what we’ve used to build our app on desktop,” Allison Johnson, the senior communications manager at DuckDuckGo, explained in a statement to The Verge.
“Instead, we’re building the desktop app from the ground up around the OS-provided rendering APIs. This means that anything beyond website rendering (e.g., tabs & bookmark management, navigation controls, passwords etc.) we have to build ourselves.” In other words, on Windows, the browser will use Edge / Chromium rendering, and the same goes for Safari / Webkit on macOS. Johnson also noted that this isn’t the same as forking, which would mean that the browser is built off of one that already exists.

The browser is currently in a closed beta test on macOS, but a tweet from Weinberg hints that DuckDuckGo is getting it ready for Windows as well. There’s no word on when the desktop browser will become publicly available.

DuckDuckGo is working on a privacy-focused desktop browser

The desktop app will work just like its mobile equivalent.

www.theverge.com

 

[brambedkar59]

It’s also built around “OS-provided rendering engines” — like it is on mobile

So WebView2 then? which uses chromium.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

What engine does the DuckDuckGo desktop browser use?

The announcement on the brand's website says that it is not forking Chromium or others (Firefox's Gecko), and instead will rely on the API for the OS-provided rendering engines. That is quite cryptic, isn't it? Allison Johnson, Senior Communications Manager at DuckDuckGo, gave a statement to The Verge. The message reads as follows, “macOS and Windows both now offer website rendering APIs (WebView/WebView2) that any application can use to render a website. That’s what we’ve used to build our app on desktop."

So, the DuckDuckGo browser will be based on the WebView2 engine, which is used in Microsoft Edge. Similarly, it will use Safari's Webkit rendering engine on Apple's macOS. How's this different from a fork?

DuckDuckGo's browser is built from scratch, to discard the clutter from the OS-provided application. This also means everything else in the browser, such as tabs, bookmark management, navigation controls, passwords, are being re-built.

DuckDuckGo browser is coming to macOS and Windows - gHacks Tech News

DuckDuckGo desktop browser is coming to macOS and Windows. It will offer a privacy-friendly user experience out of the box.

www.ghacks.net

“macOS and Windows both now offer website rendering APIs (WebView/WebView2) that any application can use to render a website. That’s what we’ve used to build our app on desktop,” Allison Johnson, the senior communications manager at DuckDuckGo, explained in a statement to The Verge.

“Instead, we’re building the desktop app from the ground up around the OS-provided rendering APIs. This means that anything beyond website rendering (e.g., tabs & bookmark management, navigation controls, passwords etc.) we have to build ourselves.” In other words, on Windows, the browser will use Edge / Chromium rendering, and the same goes for Safari / Webkit on macOS. Johnson also noted that this isn’t the same as forking, which would mean that the browser is built off of one that already exists.

DuckDuckGo is working on a privacy-focused desktop browser

The desktop app will work just like its mobile equivalent.

www.theverge.com

 

[shmu26]

It is going to be really tough to build a non-Chromium browser that works well with all major sites, unless they have a billion dollar budget that can compete with Google and Microsoft.
Even Firefox is struggling. As much as I love Firefox, it doesn't always deliver in critical situations, like displaying the info I need on the website of an airline that I already bought a ticket from.

 

[silversurfer]

DuckDuckGo browser for Mac is now available in beta (via waitlist)​

What engine does DuckDuckGo for Mac use?​

It is not a fork of Chromium. The engine under the hood uses Apple Safari's Webkit renderer. DuckDuckGo claims that its browser, which it built from scratch using just the WKWebView API, is faster than Chrome in some graphics performance, and that it uses 60% less data blocking trackers before they load.

DuckDuckGo for Mac does not support extensions yet. The announcement says that the most popular browser extensions are ad-blockers and password managers, and the company says that the app's baked-in features will cater to these requirements. The source code for the browser is not available yet, it will be made open source after the beta period.

DuckDuckGo browser for Mac is now available in beta - gHacks Tech News

DuckDuckGo browser for Mac has been released. Here's how you can sign up for the beta program and get an invitation code.

www.ghacks.net

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Data privacy company DuckDuckGo has released its super secure web browser in beta for Mac — finally. The move comes years after the company released its browser for iOS and Android in 2018, and adds to their growing suite of digital privacy tools for everyday consumers.

DuckDuckGo's Super Private Browser to the Rescue (For Mac) — Gizmodo Australia

Data privacy company DuckDuckGo has released its super secure web browser in beta for Mac — finally. The move comes years after the company released its browser for iOS and Android in 2018, and adds to their growing suite of digital privacy tools for everyday consumers.

apple.news

 

[Trooper]

Nothing for Windows yet huh?

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Nothing for Windows yet huh?

Not on the browser front sorry. But, on the bright side, as an Apple user, its nice to have you guy’s wait for a change…

 

[enaph]

It is not ready for public release for sure.
Lacks many basic options (like some customization or extensions support) but has an option to set it up as default browser...
For sure it's way faster than any other browser but I guess that once more features and extensions are available it won't be the case anymore.

 

[CyberTech]

DuckDuckGo is rolling out its web browsing app for Mac users as an open beta test. Designed for privacy, the app was announced back in April as a closed beta, but is now available for all Mac users to try before its official public launch.

The desktop browser includes the same built-in protections we’ve seen already featured in DuckDuckGo’s mobile apps, combining DuckDuckGo’s search engine, defenses against third-party tracking, cookie pop-up protection, and its popular one-click data clearing ‘Fire Button.’

DuckDuckGo for Mac is now an open beta

Its new Duck Player makes YouTube browsing more private

www.theverge.com

 

[Ink]

DuckDuckGo for Mac - Public Beta (download)

Download DuckDuckGo for Mac (beta)

The "easy button" for privacy, now on desktop

duckduckgo.com

 

[Ink]

Applies to DuckDuck for Mac.

The first external password manager built into DuckDuckGo for Mac | Bitwarden Blog

DuckDuckGo’s Mac browsing app now includes a seamless Bitwarden password management option.

bitwarden.com

 

[CyberTech]

DuckDuckGo apps and extensions are now blocking Google Sign-in pop-ups on all its apps and browser extensions, removing what it perceives as an annoyance and a privacy risk for its users.

DuckDuckGo offers a privacy-focused search engine, an email service, mobile apps, and data-protecting browser extensions. A standalone web browser is also in the works, currently in beta and only available for macOS.

The company announced today that all its Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge apps and browser extensions will now actively block Google sign-in prompts displayed on sites.

Google offers this single sign-on option on websites to enable users to quickly sign in to new platforms using their Google account for convenience and unified control.

The rest

DuckDuckGo now blocks Google sign-in pop-ups on all sites

DuckDuckGo apps and extensions are now blocking Google Sign-in pop-ups on all its apps and browser extensions, removing what it perceives as an annoyance and a privacy risk for its users.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[silversurfer]

DuckDuckGo Windows browser enters beta, here's how to sign up for it​

How to sign up for DuckDuckGo Windows browser waitlist​

1. Install the DuckDuckGo app on your Android phone or iPhone.

2. Tap on the menu button, and open the Settings page.

3. Scroll down the pop-up until you see an option that says "DuckDuckGo Windows App" Beta. Tap on it.

4. On the next screen, tap the large button that is labeled "Join the Private Waitlist".

That's it. Once you are selected for the beta, the app will display a notification with a download link and a unique invite code.

How to sign up for DuckDuckGo Windows browser waitlist - gHacks Tech News

The DuckDuckGo Windows browser is now available in private beta. Here's how to sign up for the waitlist and get an invite code.

www.ghacks.net