DuckDuckGo It has gradually positioned itself as one of the most used search engines on the Internet, beyond simply being the most popular among those that respect the privacy of users. This has encouraged those responsible to embark on other projects that go beyond the service for which it is known, so recently it has been learned of the existence of a web browser for the desktop.
In case it is not clear, DuckDuckGo has announced plans to offer a desktop web browser, because for Android there is already an application of that type based on Chromium. However, it seems that this time he will take a very different approach.
Instead of reverting to Chromium as a base, what DuckDuckGo’s desktop web browser will do is use the rendering engine offered by default by the operating system. This means that on macOS it will use the Safari WebKit, while on Windows it will rely on Microsoft Edge’s Blink based on Chromium.
The approach chosen by those in charge of the search engine is reminiscent of the forced situation that exists around browsers for iOS, which all have to use the WebKit used by Safari in a forced way, with no room for any alternative. In fact, even Firefox uses the Safari WebKit imposed by Apple instead of Quantum / Gecko, although in the case of DuckDuckGo, we remember, it is a voluntary decision.
The downside of the approach chosen by DuckDuckGo is that it greatly reduces the chances of seeing a version for Linux, since the “officiality” of Firefox in that system is something de facto and not de jure as it depends on the decision of those in charge of each one. of the distributions. In other words, Firefox is there by habit and trajectory, but it can be replaced by any other.
At the feature level, DuckDuckGo has said that its next desktop web browser will offer “Privacy protection that will work by default for search, browsing, email and more”, that is, nothing surprising considering the provenance. That means it will take care of block third-party trackers, will force the use of encryption to strengthen security and privacy and will also have a switch that will allow you to close all tabs and clean personal data with a single click. The company has also announced that it will be faster than Chrome.
DuckDuckGo starting projects or supporting a movement for privacy is nothing new. The company has already developed several tools and services to protect privacy and has joined with Brave and Vivaldi against the imposition of FLoC, a mechanism driven by Google to stop using third-party cookies, but in exchange for giving the giant more power. and dominance over people’s digital lives.
DuckDuckGo’s desktop web browser is currently in closed beta phase, so we’ll probably see it made available to the public in the next few weeks.
