

The mobile browser, on the other hand, is a clear-cut winner in our eyes and we recommend it to anyone who wants to stop trackers from following them around the Internet.At the end of April, Apple’s introduction of App Tracking Transparency tools shook the advertising industry to its core. The DuckDuckGo extension only makes sense if you are required to use only Google Chrome (like at your office) but still want to maintain some control over your privacy. Overall the extension is nice to have, but you are likely better off just using a privacy-focused browser in the first place like Brave or Firefox. The developers must have been aware of this potential outcome which is why they included a white list option which disables the extension whenever you visit a site that doesn't work.

For example, one banking website we tested went into a frenzy of refreshing itself several times per second on an endless loop and we couldn't log in until we completely disabled the extension. Unfortunately, we did find that the browser add-on was far more likely to cause compatibility issues with certain websites than in the mobile browser. It does this by forcing encrypted connections and preventing malicious code from executing. That's an extremely powerful privacy feature - especially if you share your device with others and don't want them to gain access to your email account that you forgot to log out of.įor browsing on a desktop or laptop, DuckDuckGo offers a browser extension that can help resolve a number of privacy issues related to tracking and security holes. When you press it, your screen lights up as if you just set your device on fire and an instant later all of your browsing history, cache, and so on are completely and irrevocably wiped from your device. One of the most interesting features that DuckDuckGo offers is its burn button which looks like a flame. The browser supports tabs, bookmarks, and everything else you would expect from a full-featured browsing experience. Related: Why Google Buying Fitbit Has Raised Privacy Concerns Other handy features include automatic data clearing, light and dark themes, and Google-free search autocomplete. With DuckDuckGo, privacy is the default, not an opt-in feature you have to find yourself. Remember that embarrassing query you made last week on Google? Unless you changed your settings manually to tell Google specifically not to remember, then they absolutely did remember and will use that to target you with ads. In fact, the group promises that they never keep any search history whatsoever on any of its users. The address bar works as an integrated search bar for, the groups native search engine that yields impressive search results but without phoning home every query you make to Google headquarters. The app functions just like you would expect and we found no problems viewing media rich sites like YouTube and Twitter.
