Google is the largest search engine of the web, and it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
While Google has the most amount of users, an increasing number of people grew concerns about the tech giant, in which they started to realize that their data is being used for targeted ads. Through its numerous Google products, Google can profile users to know what they like the most, and target ads to them with convincing accuracy.
Those who wish to not be tracked and profiled by Google, can use alternatives.
And one of the most popular in the privacy sector, is DuckDuckGo.
In its attempt to become something Google could never do, DuckDuckGo is looking to expand its offering beyond the search industry, by introducing a privacy-focused web browser.
The DuckDuckGo web browser is touted as part of the company’s efforts to create a "privacy super app" in a blog post by founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg.
"Like we’ve done on mobile, DuckDuckGo for desktop will redefine user expectations of everyday online privacy. No complicated settings, no misleading warnings, no 'levels' of privacy protection – just robust privacy protection that works by default, across search, browsing, email, and more. It's not a 'privacy browser'; it's an everyday browsing app that respects your privacy because there's never a bad time to stop companies from spying on your search and browsing history."
The browser in question is meant to look similar to the DuckDuckGo app for iPhone and iPad, where users can easily control their privacy settings and their information.
And because DuckDuckGo doesn't want to be associated with Google in any way, the company also said that it isn’t forking Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome, as well as what powers most popular alternative web browsers including Brave, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi.
Instead, DuckDuckGo creates a browser that is based around OS-provided rendering engines.
As of the moment of announcement, the company said that the browser is in private testing for macOS, with plans to have a working version for Windows.
Besides announcing the browser, Weinberg took his time to also showcase other DuckDuckGo's advancements in 2021.
"We believe online privacy should be simple and accessible to everyone. That’s why we spent 2021 strengthening our all-in-one privacy solution and helping people take back their privacy with one easy download," he said. "From improvements to search, tracker blocking, and our mobile app, to new features like Email Protection and App Tracking Protection, we're building a simple privacy layer for how people use the Internet today, without any tradeoffs."
"It’s privacy, simplified," he said, referring to DuckDuckGo's slogan.
While Google remains the largest search engine entity, DuckDuckGo is slowly but steadily gaining its momentum.
"As our product becomes even easier to use and more comprehensive, we’ve seen a tremendous response from users. We’re now the most downloaded browsing app on Android in our major markets (and #2 on iOS behind Chrome), we’re averaging more than 100 million searches a day, and our most recent survey showed 27 million Americans (9%) use DuckDuckGo," Weinberg added.
"Worldwide we’ve had over 150 million downloads of our all-in-one privacy apps and extensions since we moved beyond just private search in 2018."
DuckDuckGo started as a simple idea. But this time, it has grown and matured enough to go beyond its original intention.
DuckDuckGo may not make a dent in Google's market nor will it affect its throne. But in the world where more and more people started to see privacy as something they must preserve when they are on the web, DuckDuckGo's presence should make Google to at least take notice.
Read: DuckDuckGo Introduces 'App Tracking Protection' To Block Trackers On Android