DuckDuckGo brings its Mac-friendly Chrome browser killer

If privacy matters to you, it’s possible you already know that DuckDuckGo for Mac is available in public beta today, promising even more privacy than Safari provides. The first private betas of the application were introduced earlier this year.

Private by design, powerful by intent

The developers point out that the browser ships with all its built-in protections turned on by default. This could mean fewer ads (but please support our work in other ways if you explore our site ad-free), no cookie pop-ups and more.

The developers say that blocking trackers has a huge impact on web traffic, reducing data use by 60% in comparison to Chrome. The inference there is clear – if you have limited broadband data, use DuckDuckGo.

There’s also a “Duck Player,” which lets you watch YouTube videos more privately and helps you avoid those weird and sometimes dystopian recommended video suggestions.

The ad blocker now both clears out trackers and cleans up the white spaces left behind, making the web prettier when blocked.

Password and cookie control and more

The protections inside the browser are robust. You’ll find multiple layers of defense against third-party trackers with easy to find controls. This includes password management integration with Bitwarden. This two-way integration offers users another choice on top of our own built-in password manager. The app is also compatible with 1Password’s new universal autofill.

If you decide to use DuckDuckGo for Mac full time you can import bookmarks and passwords from other browsers and password managers.

Additional features include a Fire button to instantly clear recent browsing data and a cookie consent pop-up manager so you can choose to allow these on an ad-hoc basis as and when you need to access something.

The app also lets you activate DuckDuckGo Email Protection on desktop, protecting your inbox with email tracker blocking and private @duck.com addresses.

“We’re proud of how far DuckDuckGo for Mac has come in this short time, and it will only get better from here! Users will soon be able to sync DuckDuckGo bookmarks and passwords across devices. We’ll also be adding more built-in features that offer native alternatives to more popular extensions,” the company said.

You can take this Chrome replacement for a test drive from here.

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