DuckDuckGo Releases Beta Browser For Mac Users, Presenting Tons Of Security Systems

DuckDuckGo uses Apple's WebKit rendering engine (photo: DuckDuckGo Doc)

JAKARTA - DuckDuckGo again expands the reach of the browser with a myriad of security systems, this time the company launched for macOS in beta.

DuckDuckGo claims, its service is a complete privacy solution for everyday browsing without complicated settings, just a seamless private experience, and to rival Safari and Google Chrome on Mac.

DuckDuckGo says its browser on macOS features a powerful tracker blocker, email protection, and more, all voluntarily integrated.

Privacy aside, DuckDuckGo for macOS in beta is very fast. According to tests conducted by the company itself, it used 60 percent less data and was faster than Chrome in some graphics performance tests.

Among other features, DuckDuckGo states that its browser will automatically manage cookie consent pop-ups on multiple sites, that it will use an encrypted HTTPS connection whenever it is available.

The browser also includes its own password manager that can import data from other browsers and browser extensions such as 1Password or LastPass. Private synchronization of passwords and bookmarks between browsers is a planned feature but not available in this initial version.

Citing Ars Technica, Wednesday, April 13, the DuckDuckGo browser uses Apple's WebKit rendering engine via the WKWebView API. Because it uses the Mac's built-in browser engine instead of forking itself, the DuckDuckGo browser engine will get feature and security updates when users also update macOS.

That could potentially save work for the DuckDuckGo team, who don't have to do their own testing or updates every time there's a change to WebKit.

However, that doesn't mean that the DuckDuckGo browser running on different versions of macOS can have features or security differences that DuckDuckGo can't do other than urge people to update their Macs.

Using WKWebView also means that the DuckDuckGo browser cannot use browser extensions made for Safari.

Lastly, DuckDuckGo says that a Windows version of its browser is coming soon. Assuming the company uses the same approach to the browser engine on Windows as it does on the Mac, the Windows version will use Microsoft Edge WebView2 as its browsing engine, meaning that the Mac and Windows versions of the DuckDuckGo browser will share a name and some features but will be completely different.