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DuckDuckGo fo iOS homepage.
DuckDuckGo: Privacy Simplified
DuckDuckGo: Privacy Simplified
But is it too simple? Let's find out. In this article, I will review DuckDuckGo's mobile browser. DuckDuckGo mobile is very similar to its desktop counterpart, DuckDuckGo for Mac, which did not stack up very well when I reviewed it a few months back. The app is available for both iOS and Android with slightly different features, which change its grade slightly. As a result, I will have two separate grades in some categories.
Browser Overview
Browser Overview
DuckDuckGo is pretty simple as mobile browsers go. Like its desktop counterpart, it has a very minimalistic design. It completely lacks any kind of tab bar, instead using a rather annoying tab panel hidden behind a button on the interface. The new tab button is also hidden on this panel. The rest of the interface is pretty normal. Forward and back buttons, a search bar, and a settings icon. It also has a really cool fire button that burns away all of your data with a fun animation. This is DuckDuckGo's main marketing point for the browser.
Like many of DuckDuckGo's products, the first thing in settings is a push to make it your default browser, add widgets, and put it on your dock. It also has the ability to change the app icon to a variety of different colors, which is a very rare feature. There are a few privacy settings and some customization, but the browser does not give you the ability to change your search engine. It also gives you access to DuckDuckGo's beta products, which is the only reason I installed the browser. These betas are the desktop app, and an email forwarding service to remove trackers.
In terms of privacy, the browser is a bit lacking. It blocked zero trackers on google.com compared to Brave's 13. It did better on weather.com, where it got 8 trackers to Brave's 15. Its main flaw is its inability to block first party trackers, like blocking Google trackers on google.com. It also allows some trackers through that it knows are adware, which is a big problem. DuckDuckGo has a very strong privacy policy and a good reputation for privacy in its other products, so at least they aren't tracking you. The Android app also has an app tracker blocker, which stops other apps on your phone from tracking you around. This is a very useful feature, as Android has little of its own privacy protections (and is also a giant tracker itself).
Overall, DuckDuckGo mobile is not a very good browser. the beta features and app tracking protection are probably the only reason to install the browser. While it is better than some system defaults, there are much better browsers out there.
Browser Grade
Browser Grade
In this section, I will compare DuckDuckGo to other browsers to see how it stacks up. You can see other browser reviews here to compare
While DuckDuckGo has a very strong privacy policy, its tracker blocker is lacking. It blocked very few trackers, and let known adware load to "prevent site breakage". Brave blocked these trackers and the site loaded just fine, so there is no excuse for DuckDuckGo to let them through. On Android, DuckDuckGo blocks trackers from other apps from tracking you on your phone, which increases its performance in this category.
Privacy: iOS C Android B
Privacy: iOS C Android B
Browsers are graded by how good their tracker blockers are, support for FLoC, malware/nefarious script blocking, and collection of user data.
Interface: B
Interface: B
Browsers are graded on the quality of their interface. Interfaces should be easy to use and should look good.
DuckDuckGo has a very clean, minimalistic interface. However, this minimalistic interface becomes a problem when you are trying to browse with multiple tabs. Switching tabs and adding new ones has to be done in a hidden tab panel, as there is no tab bar to speak of.
The DuckDuckGo browser itself has very few features. With no shortcuts and no tab bar, the browser would be completely worthless if not for the beta products it gives users access to. However, these betas are very OS restricted. Android/Windows users can't get the desktop browser while Apple users can't get app tracking protection. The desktop browser is worthless anyway, so the betas don't make that much of a difference.
Features: D
Features: D
Browsers are graded on the presence of several useful features (tab bar, tab groups, bookmarks), as well as customizability and extra features that the browser has.
Overall Grade: iOSD AndroidC
Overall Grade: iOSD AndroidC
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