DuckDuckGo for Mac enters public beta, now available to everyone

Mac users can now try the privacy features in the DuckDuckGo browser as the app has entered the beta stage of development.

The app comes with the promise of true private web browsing 100% free from third-party tracking, targeted advertising, search query logging, and user profiling.

As expected, the default search engine is the privacy-centric DuckDuckGo that generates objective results without any bias or "user preference" factors.

DuckDuckGo for Mac is advertised as an alternative to "incognito" modes in other browsers that don't protect against web tracking, which uses roughly 60% less data than Chrome because of blocking all trackers before they are loaded.

The app is designed to make it easy for the user to set it up by having advanced privacy protection features pre-configured and activated by default

What's new in beta

While DuckDuckGo for Mac is at the beginning, version 0.30 and far from being stable, it comes with several new features since it first rolled out as a public waitlist beta in April.

Among the highlights is the "Duck Player," an embedded YouTube player that automatically blocks the platform from creating an advertising profile on the users, to keep away targeted ads.

The system is optional, and users can seamlessly switch between standard YouTube and Duck Player, depending on their needs, for a more personalized experience.

Duck Player in action (DuckDuckGo)

 

Another significant feature is the integration in the browser of the Bitwarden open-source password management solution.

DuckDuckGo for Mac is also compatible with the 1Password universal autofill feature and the browser's native password management solution.

Bitwarden integration on the browser (DuckDuckGo)

 

The newest version of the browser also has DuckDuckGo's Email Protection as a built-in feature and improved automatic cookie pop-up handling.

Version 0.30 of the app no longer leaves a blank space in the place of blocked ads.

The stable version of the DuckDuckGo browser may still be a long road ahead and the developer hasn't given an estimate for the release, neither for Mac nor for Windows.

Before that happens, though, the DuckDuckGo team has promised to open source both the app and the extensions created for it internally.