DuckDuckGo plans to release a desktop version of its Privacy Browser app. The desktop application should be available on different operating systems and will use the operating system’s search engine, but with built-in privacy features.
The desktop version of Privacy Browser is designed to protect users’ privacy in the same way that iOS and Android apps work. Writes DuckDuckGoTo: “So no complicated settings, no misleading warnings, no privacy protection levels, just strong privacy protections that work by default.”
The browser is not a fork on Chromium, but the app is built around the rendering engine for the desktop operating system it runs on. This means that the app will work on macOS based on Safari and Windows based on Edge. As a result, it can keep “unnecessary junk mail” away from commonly used browsers, writes DuckDuckGo. Edge is a Chromium-based browser, but instead of using a fork, which builds on an already existing browser, DuckDuckGo will have to build everything that isn’t in the view’s APIs, The Verge spokesperson explains. So navigation, bookmarks, passwords, and everything has to be built by DuckDuckGo itself. According to The Verge, the macOS version of the app is currently undergoing closed beta testing. For Windows, the app is in progress.
The privacy features that are hidden in the app should work while searching, browsing, and email, among other things, are turned on by default. The desktop app also features a Fire button, which is also included in the iOS and Android app, which removes all data with one click and closes all browser tabs. It is not yet known when the app should be launched.
