DuckDuckGo is now available on Mac

DuckDuckGo has announced that, at long last, their privacy-protecting browser is finally available on Mac, but unfortunately there’s a waitlist to get access. 

As advertisers’ means of tracking our data have become more and more known throughout the past few years, privacy has become a major concern for many users who don’t want corporations knowing every last detail about them. Thankfully for those users, the DuckDuckGo browser is one way to mitigate that concern, and now it’s finally available as its own app on Mac… ish. 

First launched back in the practically prehistoric time of 2008 as a fairly standard web browser, it’s safe to say that we’ve been waiting a hell of a long time to get a standalone app for the DuckDuckGo browser. While that wait is still far from over for Windows users, Mac users can now rejoice that they’re at least able to join a waitlist to get access to the standalone app. 

Similarly to the features offered by DuckDuckGo’s web browser, which you can access on any device, the standalone browser app “gives you privacy by default” with built tracking blockers and the one-click data clearing “fire button”. The standalone app also offers new “cookie pop-up protection” that’s said to work on 50% of all websites, saving you from the hassle of managing at least half of your cookies yourself. 

According to DuckDuckGo’s announcement, these security features thankfully don’t come at the cost of performance as the DuckDuckGo browsing app is “already faster than Chrome on some graphics performance,” and the app also uses around “60% less data than Chrome” thanks to blocking trackers. 

DuckDuckGo for Mac is in beta! A fast, everyday browser (like our mobile app) that protects your privacy by default w/ private search, tracker blocking & HTTPS upgrading, our?button, plus new features like automatic cookie pop-up management and more.https://t.co/pE1zxSjszX

— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) April 12, 2022

As you might expect from a browsing app whose main concern is keeping your data private, you won’t have to hand over any personal information to sign up for the waitlist, however, you will need the DuckDuckGo mobile app so you can venture into its settings, where the option to “join the private waitlist” resides. 

While beta access to the standalone browser is currently only available to Mac users, DuckDuckGo promises that “Windows is coming” so hopefully it won’t be too long before access to the browser and its useful features is more widely available.