DuckDuckGo Private Browser Reviews

by Yesdnyl99

Sadly, DDG has decided to downrank sites based on “disinformation” which we all know is define by companies that jump on board as anything they FEEL doesn’t match up to the lying news. They’ve lied to Americans for decades and yet, people don’t learn. Now, a once trusted site and company has decided to do the same. Whatever they decide is dis or misinformation, they don’t trust you and have to add their two cents in to control what you see. Propaganda much? They believe what they think is correct and you’re too dumb to see through lies and so they must control your searches to keep you in check with what they want you to see. In the trash goes DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser as well as their search engine. Everyone should be wanting privacy but also to find and use companies that do not insert their politics nor feelings into everything. Maybe DDG will change their minds and stay neutral. Companies never learn their lesson though. DDG claims they’re not going political but then says they downgrade sites of lower quality? LOL That’s their excuse of removing whatever they choose is “disinformation”. This is a joke.

by PR90i

DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is really nice and I feel very safe while using it. The setup is laid back and easy to use. Some features I find really enjoyable is when you visit a site it shows how many trackers were deterred and clearing tabs and data is super easy. If you are looking for something to make you feel safe and secure while browsing, DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is for you.

The only thing I dislike is DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser will ask you to make DuckDuckGo your main browser on iOS, but it will not let you download a PDF and various other files nor does it give the option to save anything to files or iCloud. If you want something to be your main browser but won’t be ok with it not downloading certain files, saving to a cloud, or remembering usernames, passwords and so on… DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is not for you.

DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is good for those ducks who go, go, go while staying under the tracker’s radar, but not good for those ducks wanting to settle in, do their main functions while staying under the radar.

by Mnmmm;3345

I really do. I’ve been using it for several months now. Unfortunately I am just about at my wits end. Every single solitary page I ever load ever ever ever refreshes after 30 to 60 seconds. Maybe I could handle a refresh after one or two seconds but I will be halfway through logging into something or making a post and Bam it refreshes me and I have to start over. If I were just casually reading different websites maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal but I can’t tell you how many hundreds of forms I’ve had to fill out at least two and sometimes three or four times. Just load the stupid page! I have about learned that I have to wait a good while after every page I load to make sure that it’s not going to refresh me. I get that maybe you’re blocking cookies are trackers and maybe that’s why but it’s extremely annoying to have to start over whatever I’m doing EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Also “feature” or not I really really really hate that “new tab” button. I accidentally hit it multiple times a day. I also don’t like not having a good history back button. Sometimes I lose a page and then I can never go back to where I was and I have to start my searches all over again.

by Davidrherron

I want to start off by saying this browser is the best single browser I’ve found for the iPad. The bar at the top with buttons and the search bar doesn’t take up a lot of space, and the desktop mode always works well, unlike with Safari. The browser looks nice and is quick. There are two features I feel that are missing, one necessity and one nice to have. First - the reason this review doesn’t have 4 stars - I cant set DuckDuckGo as the default for opening hyperlinks on my iPad. When I click a link in my email and a box shows up it only gives me the choice of safari or chrome, and I don’t even have chrome installed. If and when DuckDuckGo can be set as a default for this, I will update this review to 4 stars gladly. Aside from that, the only feature I feel this browser is missing from pushing it to perfection is some easy gesture based system of switching tabs. The button in the bottom right hand corner is fine and logical, but some more touch friendly and quicker way to switch tabs would make this browser much better. That’s it. If it gets those two features it would be perfect and I would update this review to 5 stars.

by Pumblino

Today is my first day on this search engine.
I get so many ads within websites i am visiting. Newspaper articles....pop up ads. Look up news stories and again, pop up ads. Local tv stations, more ads. Then facebook, ads galore. Tried a porn site just to see and pop up ads again. These ads do not close and allow me to continue reading a story or finish my reason for visit. I did set appropriate settings but i dont see too big a difference. I downloaded because i looked on safari for sites with less ads and im not seeing a huge difference. I don’t want to download on iphone because i see some ratings claiming the phones get locked up and other serious issues including one review saying it rendered their phone useless and totally locked up without being able to shut down and restart phone. He was forced to buy another iphone. Privacy is a huge concern these days and my doubts of it are surfacing due to ads ads and more ads. Not what i came here for. Will give it another day or two to see-if there is any change. But if not, i will not continue using this engine.

by Yodelingpuppet

Ok, that’s subjective. There’s pros and cons to each search engine; the major drawback of Google, for me anyway, is that everything is tracked everywhere. They’re constantly collecting information about you and building a profile on you. I’m not paranoid about privacy or anything, but keep in mind, Google isn’t your product, you’re their product, and you’re sold to advertisers. I already use Facebook and Twitter so I’m still tracked, but cutting Google out of that equation gives me a bit of peace of mind. As consumers, we should not be okay with constantly being tracked... do your self a favor and replace Google with DuckDuckGo. The only feedback I have for the devs is to make the keyboard pop up as DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is opened. Why click inside the search bar to bring up the keyboard? The whole reason for opening DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is to start typing something, and therefore the keyboard should already be present. If you must insist on keeping it the way it is, at the least, you can place the search bar in the center so it then becomes a one-handed operation. That’s my only minor complaint.

by Tia__ann

I genuinely enjoy using DuckDuckGo. The default search engine is comparable to Google, and while I’m in a weird stage where I can’t afford a VPN it’s nice to have a browser that makes me feel at least somewhat protected while using the Internet and it is easy to use if you’re already familiar with Safari or other existing mobile browsing apps. It does have one downside however.

There’s no pop-up blocking functionality at all, or at least not one that I’ve been able to easily find after a year of using DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser , and it’s kind of disappointing because there’s not a way to add extensions and some apps have pop ups that I don’t know about and there’s nothing I can do to stop that. Since DuckDuckGo is so privacy focused it would be nice if DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser had features to protect me from malicious pop-ups. If it does exist and I don’t know about it after combing the settings, they should definitely do something to make it more easily accessible by the user.

by Jreichwein

I love DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser and am very thankful that its available. My only complaint is that I often get lost in a loop of new tabs when trying to access my open tabs. At the bottom right of DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser there is a small square with the number of existing tabs. 1/2 the time when I touch the tab number box it opens a new tab. If it only happened once I would not even mention it but it happens 5-6 times in a row before I finally get a chance to delete all the new tabs I have opened. Inevitably I hit above the X when trying to close one of the inadvertant new tabs and the cycle starts over when I try to hit the tab number box again. I love DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser so much I just deal with it but man it would be nice if this issue could be fixed
Update: The developer contacted me to let me know that the discussed bug above is actually a sneaky shortcut and is supposed to work this way. Though I appreciate the developer responding to me I cannot change my feelings toward this functionality. It is only supposed to create a new tab when you hold it down. I have this happen with a single tap all the time. Sometimes 4-5 times in a row. It is a time waster and annoying for me but I do not mean to sound ungrateful, I love DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser and I love Duck Duck Go for their privacy policy. Thanks for getting back to me

by Cappel 💜

I love the duck duck go app! It’s good with privacy and doesn’t track you like google etc. One problem though is that so I’ll download it for example and through the whole day it I can use it, but the next day I lock on it and the loading screen comes up for about 10 seconds and then it backs out of DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser no matter how many times I try and it’s like as if it were kicking me off of DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser and it’s really annoying. I even restarted my phone and it didn’t let me on so I had to re-install it and thankfully it worked but it then comes back, and I have to go through the whole app introducing itself again. Eventually I got so sick and tired of re-installing DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser that I wanted to stop using it but I like how DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser works and instead of it going back to the home-screen it saves what you had on last when you get on again, and that’s another thing that I like about it. Please duck duck go fix this I hate uninstalling and then re-installing it again. But in it’s a good app! 👍 I really recommend it!

by PrincipledEnigma

Search engines notoriously have poor AI’s. And from my experience apparently some of them have no AI. Of course I guess that depends on your perspective. Nonetheless, from a user standpoint, if the search engine cannot understand common English punctuation usage nor discern that words inside quotes should be seen as phrases, “not separate words”; then there is room for improvement!
The use of punctuation to define different parameters for a “search”, is in fact old school! It’s been around for a while. Unfortunately search engines for the Internet don’t seem to remember that. And many of us (your clients) have noticed.
I can assure you, the first company that develops these capabilities, along with the security and privacy that DuckDuckGo offers (which I’m sure will continue to improve as the future unfolds), will find great success and popularity within the first week. So what if “a week” seems like a slow rise; especially if it leads to a loyal fan club that includes high numbers of subscribers.
Also you get the privilege of getting a five star rating from me. 🛖 Get into your think tanks!

by Adarkknight13

Make no mistake about it, this is a five star app. If I could Add one feature, I would add the ability to save a page to the home screen like you can in safari. Even though Duck Duck Go can be set as the default browser, if you open a link saved to your home screen through Safari, the link will still open Safari rather than opening the default browser, whatever it is. Even so, the browser has the usual features like bookmarks and the ability to save to a reading list, but I have many links saved to my home screen and placed in a folder for one touch convenience. I hope this feature is added in the future. I will happily put up with the inability to use bookmarks from my home screen for browsing security. It is fascinating to look at the site security report for each site to see how often content creators are attempting to track us across the Internet and how many trackers there are in the sites we use.

by Freddy Lack

I must say the assurances I receive from Duck Duck have been proven to be correct.

I know this as a matter of fact because Duck Duck advises me who attempted to view my web requests.

Every web site I look for is above board. I am proud of what I look for but just knowing that Duck Duck is protecting Me, unlike Google, who happens to want to know everything I once looked for on there search engine.

I only wish that Duck Duck allowed me to speak my request rather than having to type it.

I have concluded that Duck Duck hasn’t any
Control of who runs the Microphones on these smartphones, tablets, and your laptop or desktop.

Therefore, They cannot protect My privacy.

Every one is entitled to their views and opinions and no one needs to know what you are looking for.

I, wholeheartedly, with confidence ask everyone to try Duck Duck.

They will inform you who wants to know what you’re entitled to keep private.

I respect their respect to their users.

Thanks for reading my review but Duck Duck cannot help you until You use it.

It will answer your request as any other search engine. That is to say Google,Safari, AOL, Bing, and others I cannot name at this moment.

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to one and All.

God Bless My World and All readers.

Try Duck Duck. Nothing will change, what You seek will be readily available to You.

An extremely happy person while seeking answers to my many requests.

Fred

by Acorns1234

July 21, 2020 UPDATE:

Thank you for putting back in the option for viewing tabs!! Much better on the eyes. Only thing I noticed now is that the tabs all look alike except maybe a small icon on the left. Before I could tell what the site was by the coloration or other distinguishing features. Now I have to go slower and stop and look. If you can make the left icon bigger/ more distinct or incorporate easy to see color banners (whatever) that can allow you to recognize the site it would be very helpful.
Also with the new grid ‘box’ tabs I found it very easy to accidently delete a tab when scrolling. . I couldn’t see a way to reverse it.
But I have to tell you - you were amazingly quick at addressing the issue. Bravo!!!

Now if only AAA understood that I would reinstall their auto app......
===============================

OMG! When I minimized a page before I could easily scroll through the other pages to get to another tab as the tab heading was easy to see and narrow (top to bottom).

NOW I see these big fat boxes that are side by side and I can’t just scroll down I always have to look left and right as well. It really bothers my eyes and slows me down. Ugh.

It is MUCH more difficult now, not in any way easier. But this is an easy fix!

Give people the option in settings to choose the layout!!! And for goodness sake please do it quickly!

Thanks.

by Grammy Member

Once upon a time, the internet was a place for free thoughts, no matter what they were. You could search the internet and get all results. You could make up your own mind and decide which of the results of your search were good or bad. You could think for yourself.
Then this insidious company named google ,decided that you weren’t smart enough to decide which search results were what you wanted. So this evil company said,” We know better than everyone else and we will only return search results that they approve of or have been paid for.” All other information that’s out there is irrelevant and they can’t read others opinions unless we say that it’s ok.

If you are a free thinker and don’t want to be told what you should think, read, know and want to see all and decide for yourself, Delete google as a search engine and use Duck Duck Go.
Your search will return all of the internet, not just what an evil company wants you to read.

by Luis Fonzi

I don’t wright reviews but I really like this even thought I don’t really have anything to hide I think that if we don’t show these companies that we care about are privacy we will live in future/society we’re ads and tracks haunt us all and influence use. Which is why I really recommend DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser it doesn’t track you, it block/prevents trackers from tracking you, doesn’t have a filter bubble that gives you customized results kinda like propaganda and discrimination and lastly it gives helpful tips to keep your privacy in check. If it weren’t for DuckDuckGo I would have never know that the share my location setting doesn’t work most of the time. You might be think how does DuckDuckGo make money the way do that is from affiliate links basically when you buy something online in DuckDuckGo some of that money goes DuckDuckGo I hole that this has convinced you to try out DuckDuckGo and thanks for reading this long.

by Snivram

I have used DuckDuckGo as my default search engine in Safari on my Mac and my iPhone for a couple of years now. Don’t like Google knowing so much about me. It started out being OK but his steadily improved over the two years and now I can hardly tell the difference when I compare it to the Google search engine. Just started using the DuckDuckGo privacy browser on my iPhone a few days ago. It is excellent. Great browsing experience and great privacy. Touch one icon in the browser and your whole history instantly disappears. This requires going through menus in Settings in iOS Safari. And the built ad blocker is superb. Highly recommend the DuckDuckGo iOS privacy browser and the DuckDuckGo search engine for your Mac. I have tried other privacy browsers in DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser Store and DuckDuckGo is the best. Couldn’t be happier. My only complaint. I wish DuckDuckGo made a privacy browser for the Mac.

by Christian Bliss

DuckDuckGo is the best browser I have seen since i have been using Google. I have been using google for 5 years and have been enjoying it UNTIL I saw what Google actually does in the background. I freaked out and was telling everybody about it. I was in DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser store when i searched for "secure browser" and the first thing to pop up was "DuckDuckGo, secure browser". I clicked on it and saw the reviews and downloaded it right away, and it was so worth it! When i first opened DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser , i went to my favorite website and DuckDuckGo showed me how unsecure it really was. DuckDuckGo has a simple and effective browser layout which is simple to navigate. I tried the fire icon and DuckDuckGo completley erased the browsing history and was amazing! I have completley deleted Google Chrome and DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser is my main browser now. If you need a browser for anything, use DuckDuckGo, It wont let you down!

by Andrew1243

I like every thing that is provided, and I am glad that DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser scans questionable websites to view and inform me of the privacy practices, this can prevent my history from being aggregated and save my device from potentially developing a malicious virus that could overtake my device. And it’s rather simple as well. But I have one complaint:
I enjoy the fact that I can courageously venture into the deeper parts of the web to find information for essays, recreation etc., but I would prefer a feature that could be toggled in settings permitting DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser to discourage and omit all inappropriate photographs, video, imagery, etc. In other words, I do not want pornographic images to seep into my searches with all the ambiguity in words these days. If you could design a feature to just that, it would be excellent. An even better idea, make the option to create a password as a requirement to turn off the filter, you know, just so that young children will not turn it off and encounter x-rated material. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.

by Alysenet

I made DDG the default browser and search engine on my iphone...at least I think I did. I get confused about the browser vs search tool concept but that's me, no fault of DDG. Also I get confused about what browser is open when I've owned a browser. Is there even a way to tell what browser we're in while in a browser....always confusing to me. Anyway....I digress... I'm particularly enjoying the DDG search tool widget I managed to add to my iphone's icons/buttons. Two of the three designs let us add icons/buttons to our fave web links. Helps speed up getting to links instead of needing to scroll through a menu. Would be ideal if there were a two-row DDG search tool widget for placing two rows of our favorite link icons into....but I'm being fussy. Also made DDG my default search tool on my PC. I don't think I found a DDG browser for computers....but I may be wrong...again, I'm confused.

by G-mail-man

“Far too few” really means “not enough” to be sure. I rarely endorse apps and even more rare is an endorsement I make for a tech/IT/web product. I clearly and vehemently can make a case for every internet traveler to want -nay NEED to use this browser. Yes, I assume that everyone needs (and wants) to protect their privacy when on the web. I don’t think that’s a far-fetched assumption to make.
I’ve used this browser quite a bit now and after previous frustrating attempts to enhance my privacy by using other, more popular browsers’ cumbersome privacy settings, can readily say that DuckDuckGo’s offering is the most intuitive, well laid out, and quick browser I’ve used in the over 25 years I’ve been an IT professional. The browser has an almost minimalist look and feel. That doesn’t mean that it is without varied features tried-and-true and some I wished I’d had long ago.
I will be installing DuckDuckGo‘s browser on production machines at the office and clients as well. (After I verify any legality issues ($) therein of course)
Thanks DuckDuckGo
-jbl

by Alice Valkyrie

I like that this browser lets you clear your cache and doesn’t take up much space on my phone. I wish it was better at blocking ads though. I’ve used this browser on my Mac for years b/c I trust it far more than I trust Google to not sell my search history to advertisers.

However, due to a possible bug-DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser version of this browser isn’t as private as it should be. I can clear my cache and completely close DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser -but I don’t think it completely deletes my search history. Why do I say this? Because I can open DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser (after having cleared the cache and closed it) and often, if I leave it open and go to another app before returning to it, a YT vid or a webpage I visited before I cleared my cache will appear for a brief second before disappearing. While it doesn’t bother me beyond the fact that I worry some of my data is being saved (which I don’t want)-this could be a major issue for some people if they were truly using DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser to have a 100% untraceable search history.

by Sell_ing

I absolutely love this over Google knowing I'm not being spied on all the time. I know I don't have anything to worry about when using Google because I only use it for basic searches and stuff I guess but either way. Anyways, great app, very easy to use, and fast. One suggestion I would give, I'm not sure if this is something you guys would be interested in, but Google has their own iPhone keyboard called Gboard, and it's a really nice keyboard, I use it myself, it has swipe typing and a bunch of other features like one handed mode, etc.. But basically you need to give it full access for it to be fully usable in certain features.. so they can log and record pretty much everything you type. I haven't looked into their privacy policy and such on it, but 3rd party keyboards have the ability to log what you type. I would love to see a keyboard made by your company. If you read this, thanks for taking the time, and hope you consider.

by Wolfofteal

I’m not 100% sure which version was updated to accommodate the request I made below, but they did it! And it took no more than 7 or 8 weeks, which seems like a fair turnaround for a team to accept feedback and put out a functional update. DDG now meets all my picky requirements to be my main browser! Proud to support a company that values privacy and genuinely listens to their users!

ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW:

I’m a huge fan of DuckDuckGo. The fact that they have a user-friendly, privacy-focused mobile browser in and of itself is fantastic. It’s also fast and has several wonderful options, like dark mode and the ability to lock DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser via Face/Touch ID or passcode. Bonus that they just changed the icon from predominately white to predominately orange, which I think looks great and makes it stand out more (many, many apps have a predominately white icon).

However - developers, if you’re reading this, PLEASE implement this feature, or tell me how it works if it’s available and I just haven’t figured it out......

Give us the ability to reorder tabs. I love DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser so much, and I would love to use it as my main mobile browser. But this feature is important to me and its absence means I sometimes have to use Brave or Safari. It may seem like a small thing, but for the OCD or the scatterbrained, it’s a feature that simply can’t be missing.

by SearchforSanity

So, a few years back I spotted this on a family members laptop. Being curious I asked what was up with the duck. I was then informed that it doesn’t track us, and my intrigue was peaked. Once I downloaded it I noticed something absolutely remarkable: Google not only tracks us, which we all know, but it also specifically hides certain results. I won’t get into the nitty gritty of it, but know that if you want accurate information and true privacy and security: DuckDuckGo is the best way to go for search engines. One of my favorite features is the fact I can burn everything when I’m done, which I do regardless of what I search for. Tired of those ads that you get based on your searches? Want some Privacy? Download DuckDuckGo and save yourself the headache of worrying about it. For added security, check out Proton mail, which follows the same ideology but for you email.

by Kwonz

I’m so happy to get Google and Facebook out of my life once and for good. It’s like quitting smoking. You feel so much better after doing so.

DDG is a breath of fresh air. I fully stand by companies that are for the people in helping the fight to restore our privacy and rights. Which is getting to be a bigger concern as technology is moving forward. We all live in the Information Age and we need to protect it. Hope to see more companies stepping up like DDG is.

With all that said, I would like to see optimizations made to take full support of the bigger screen on the iPhone XS Max. I’ve told all my friends and family about DDG and they all love it. The interface is extremely clean, sleek and sexyyyyy! It even has dark mode that you can choose under themes and you can pretty much customize the overall look and feel of it also! Love that feature.

by Julie's Dad

You thought you could just surf all you want and nobody would know. You sneak off to sites in the 4 corners of the globe, just where you should not be seen publicly! You were caught sleuthing where your girl/boyfriend told you not to go! Just had to go there, didn’t you? Now turn around and say, “Thank you, GOOGLE!” You have been betrayed! Now you have all those pop ups and unwanted emails. Serves ya right. Should have gone with DUCKDUCKGO from the beginning. No blood trail for anyone to follow! DDG says you surf without a leash, then there is no leash. Your privacy is especially important to you and equally important to DDG in helping you keep it that way. They help ensure your privacy remains private. Yes, a bit getting used to at first, but when you realize GOOGLE had you on a leash, you’ll happily turn to DDG. DDG is my go to for all things personal and private.

by West Verlaine

Our forefathers certainly had high hopes and aspirations in crafting our constitution and bill of rights etcetera. Once upon a time a guy I know (ahem) opened his computer to find that these two search engines changed all the filters...permanently. Welcome to the machine as the iconic band Pink Floyd put it. The accounts had always been forever mined for information so they could “bring relevant opportunities to me ...their beloved citizen”. My junk mail box swelled over the years while my inbox dwarfed in comparison.

Turns out their oversight of my accounts led to all sorts of turmoil in my life..and it was all my fault? I had all the two factor identification everything and more. Their account agreement where they state it’s okay to share our information with their partners. Well the one of the partners was very careless.

by CaptchaWillBeTheDeathOfMe

Understanding what is being done with our data by the big tech companies every day is Orwellian to say the least. I’ve used Duck Duck Go’s search engine for a while and was ecstatic to stumble upon their mobile browser. Yet, I kept my hopes low because too often I’ve been disappointed when it comes to mobile applications. Not this time. All I can say is: WOW. Smooth, easy, *gorgeous* browsing experience. Everything is on point.

Thank you so much for valuing my privacy and making it a focal point while crafting this masterpiece of a mobile internet browsing experience. Feel like it sounds like I’m shilling but I assure you I’m so unlikely to write another review until the day I die. Just please value your data and privacy, do yourself a favor and download DuckDuckGoPrivateBrowser right now. I’m just beyond blown away.

by Cozyslippers

A friend in IT told me about this Search Engine because I’ve been trying to find a secure method of research without being tracked and hacked. Well this is it. If you’re tired of being steered in all the directions other then where you want to go - switch to DuckDuckGo. If you’re tired of being fed bad information or skewed bits of information to feed you a hidden agenda, switch to DuckDuckGo. If you’re tired of going all the way to page 10 on Google just to hopefully find objective answers, switch to DuckDuckGo. We are on the information highway when we’re here. We have the right to see what we’re actually looking for - not just what the controllers want us to see. Lastly, from what I understand, it’s an American based company. I prefer that. Happy researching!