The internet. One tool we've come to depend on so much for virtually everything.
We need the internet for faster access to information, communication, and social interactions.

One tool; So many great advantages. But, every good drug has its side effects, and so does the internet.

Privacy invasion is one of the problems users of the internet face today. A lot of us have turned blind eyes to that problem, including me.
I never cared who's watching my actions while I surfed the internet. Well, that was until I found out about private browsing.
Since my discovery of this phenomena, I've watched every single action I take while on the internet.

You might think it is unnecessary. But, I assure you that your mind would change after reading this article.

In case you don't know about the concept of private browsing; [check out this article] I published.

I talked about the concept of private browsing. What it is all about. I also reviewed an app that you could try out with regards to private browsing.

Having laid the foundation of this discussion in my previous article, I will go into more details here on.

In this article, I will be talking about what a private browser does for you. I highlighted a few of these in my previous article about "private browsing".
I will be shedding more light on that subject matter here, and I will also be reviewing an app.

I already reviewed an app in my previous publication; "Brave Browser".

The app I will be reviewing alongside my discussion is; Duckduckgo Browser". It's a really weird name for a browser. But, you won't think of its weird name when you see what the app is packing.

It is necessary to point out that these apps(brave and duckduckgo browsers) are quite similar. That is; they serve the same purpose. However, there are reasons why each one is unique. You will find that out later on when I do a comparison between these apps.

Notwithstanding the similarities, I will still be reviewing all the noteworthy features of Duckduckgo browser.

With respect to private browsing, I will be talking about what private browsing does for you.

Here are the talking points in this article.

• What private browsing does for you.
• Review of Duckduckgo browser

Without further ado, let's delve into the discussion for today.

What Private Browsing does for you.

I would be concise with this discussion and would not beat about the bush.

The first thing using a private browser does for you is;

It secures you from web tracking.

If you haven't come across this word before, your first question would be;

What is web tracking?

In simple and concise terms;

Web tracking is the activity (and ability) of a website (using special software tools) to keep tabs on website visitors.

What this means is that, when you surf through a website, your activity on that website is being monitored.
This is done without any permission whatsoever by the maintainers of the website.

Normally, this act isn't so bad in itself. It could help improve your browsing experience online on that website.

However, there is a downside to this.

Web trackers keep tabs on your internet activity.
They could know your name(that is if you opened an online account). But, if they don't know your name, they would certainly know your interests.

Most of these web tracking websites share these information with other websites.

Have you ever wondered why you see ads of items you recently checked out on a commercial site?

Not just one website, but several websites.

In Nigeria, the most popular e-commerce platform is "Jumia".
I check out that platform almost every day if I can snatch an amazing deal. I also do a little window shopping.
What gets my mind puzzled is how I get to see those items I just checked out popping up as ads.
It didn't make sense to me until I got this knowledge of web tracking.
Well, if this was the only reason why web tracking was invented, it wouldn't have been a bad idea. But, sadly, it isn't the only thing that is done.

Ad blocking.

The resultant effect of web trackers not being able to track your activities is; the riddance of ads.
However, you will still be able to see ads when you visit some websites.
These ads are not based on your previous activities. They are embedded on the website.
But, they can still be blocked, if the browser you are using has an ad-blocker.

Well, not all of these private browsers or even regular browsers come with this feature.

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There is another concept of private browsing though.

Not wanting people to know what you have been doing on the internet when they access your browser.

How would they know this?

Well, with a regular browser; your browsing history, URLs, caching and cookies are stored locally on your computer or phone.

This means that I could know what you just browsed by checking your browser history.

What information could you possibly want to hide?

• It could be personal health issues you don't want someone to know.
• It could be some personal business contract you are pursuing online
• You could be watching porn. oopsie!

To this effect, the incognito mode was introduced into browsers.

It is called incognito on google chrome. Some browsers give another name for it though.

On this mode, when you exit the browser, everything about that browsing session is wiped.
Login details, cache, cookies, browser history, etc. Everything is wiped.
I use this mode a lot.

Now, the combination of an adblocker, incognito browser and anti-web tracker, makes up for great private browsing experience.

But, are you totally private? Do you become a ghost when you surf?

Hold that thought.

You will find out in my article.

Now that you have seen a glimpse of what can be achieved with private browsing, let's review the browser.

Review of Duckduckgo browser.

source

Without further explanations, from the content you've read so far, you already know that; Duckduckgo is a private browser.

There is a mobile version of this browser, but no PC version per se.

To use Duckduckgo on PC, you have to use it as an extension on another browser.

The app is available for both Android and iOS users, which is really cool.
IOS users are used to getting left out of such great tools. They are lucky this time.

I will be reviewing the browser installed on my Android device.

Let's get right into it;

Tracking protection.

It wouldn't be called a private browser without this feature.
With Duckduckgo browser, you have protection from website trackers.
How effective this feature is, I don't know.
But what I've come to like about this feature on Duckduckgo browser is the extra information.

The browser not only blocks these trackers. You can also find out which website trackers are tracking your activities.

Some website had to 5 trackers. Some had 1-2 trackers. But there was no website with none.
Apparently, Google are the leaders of this business.
They appeared to be tracking all the websites I opened.

Multiple tabs

You can open more than one browsing tab at the same.

This is common for browsers. But, I noticed one privacy browser that didn't have the multiple tabs feature.
It's great to have it on this browser.

Flame button.

I didn't know what else to name it; so, I named it flame button.
The flame button allows you to clear all the data of the browsing session.
It's another way of refreshing the browser without exiting the browser.

This also comes in handy when someone asks to use your browser while you are in an active browsing session.
You can use this button to wipe the slate(browser) clean.
Personally, I'm in love with this feature. The reason is that someone always wants to use my phone to browse. With this feature, I have no issues with handing over my phone immediately to that person.

I think this feature had an improvement in the latest version of the app.
Maybe not directly but it is related.

Clearing the data of the app in previous versions would also clear the app's preferences.
It doesn't matter what clearing method you used.

This is no longer a problem in the latest version of this app.

The flame button is located beside the box where you enter a web address. The icon is indicated by a flame.

Incognito tab.

By default, you are browsing on an incognito tab on Duckduckgo browser.
On some private browsers, you get regular browser experience where your browsing session is stored. Then you also get the incognito tab.
I already explained how the incognito tab works.

When you exit the browser, everything from that browsing session is wiped.

What I like about this feature is the efficiency.

The developers are going straight to the point why they made the browser. That is; to be strictly private. No more, no less.
But, I think this all boils down to what I'm feeling at that moment though.
Sometimes, I might want to retain the history of my browsing session. At the same time, I want to be incognito while I check out some websites. That is where you'd have issues with this browser.

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To make the browser a little friendly, they(the developers) added;

Bookmarks.

You can add websites as bookmarks on the app.

This means that the bookmarks would be websites you don't have issues with people accessing. So it is quite safe to do so.

I'm a bookmark person. I save bookmarks a lot. So I'm excited that this feature is available on the app.

Privacy search.

The browser is equipped with its own engine. I think the search engine was what gave birth to the mobile app.
We all know google search engine. It is the most common and used search engine in the world.
But, coupled with the information they may have gotten from tracking you when you make a search, the results are related to your interests.

Desktop Site.

This a basic browser component. You'd rarely see a modern browser with this feature.

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There you have it. The noteworthy features of Duckduckgo browser.
There are other things you can do on the app's settings though. But, I consider it trivial.

I will not end this review without saying a few words about the app's user interface (UI).

Duckduckgo's User Interface.

The review of any app's interface is the first thing I always do.
But, in this case, it is coming last. That is because there isn't much to dave about it.
The interface of the app is just plain.

You have this Duckduckgo logo at the center of the page and that's all.

Well, I didn't expect much from it, considering that it is basically an incognito browser. Incognito tabs have this look too.

There are theme options, though very limited. You have either a light or dark theme.
Without questions, I opted for the dark theme.

The User Interface of this app is where I'd pitch in my bias theory.
If the app works effectively, screw the looks.

True value is not in the beauty of an object, but, in its content.
Haree, 2019.

I'm feeling like Socrates right now with that line.

So, it is a wrap with my review of Duckduckgo browser.

97% of everything you need to know about the app is in this article. The remaining 3% is reserved for your own opinion and experience.

Summary

I'm sure that with this article, you are beginning to think twice about using a regular browser.
Well, you should. It doesn't really matter if your activities on the internet are not worthy of privacy. But, for the fact that you are being tracked is enough reason to switch to private browsing.

In this article, I've shared what private browsing can do for you. I've also reviewed an app while doing so.
In my next article, I will be discussing another vital point about this topic(private browsing).
Stay glued to my blog for that article.

Thanks for reading.

Links

• Project repository: https://github.com/duckduckgo/Android
• App download link: Latest release

Resources:

The content of the app's review was created based on my knowledge of the project, and mostly from my experience. The images used are screenshots of the platform on my device. Other images gotten elsewhere have their source links provided just below them.

Series backlinks:

• Be "Invisible" while you surf the internet Part 1[Brave Browser].

Github profile:

https://github.com/HarryHeights