Google Chrome is by far my most used browser even though I have my issues with it, like its memory usage (If you have similar issues, check out our guide to help with that!). It’s fast, familiar, and tightly integrated with Google’s ecosystem so I can easily access things like Gmail, Drive, Docs, and sync it up with my Android phone.
It’s understandable why it’s pretty much the default go-to for most users. However, more advanced users that spend a ton of their time online will be more concerned about security. If you’re one of them, you might have heard of the DuckDuckGo browser. In fact, you might have even read about it from our article on it! But how do these features actually play out in use? Well, I tried replacing Chrome with DuckDuckGo and the results were surprising.
In this article, I’ll go over the key differences I found that’s probably going to make DuckDuckGo a browser I seriously consider switching to going forward.
1. A Ton of Privacy Features
This is the big thing that DuckDuckGo markets itself on. For the average user, they’ll just notice a couple of quality-of-life changes that make browsing easier and more convenient. For advanced users, they’ll really appreciate all the different ways that this browser blocks trackers.
For instance, you know all those websites throw you a cookie request? They force you to either Accept, Decline, or Manage Preferences. They probably even make the decline option tiny to encourage you to click accept. Well, DuckDuckGo will automatically hit decline for you and prevent the pop-up from even showing up. This makes your browsing experience way more fluid as you won’t constantly be interrupted. This also extends to other things like YouTube ads, which work even if you don’t use their special Duck player.
On a more technical side, DuckDuckGo will passively protect your privacy as well. Chrome’s business model centers on data collection, and it intentionally buries a ton of its privacy protections under layers upon layers of settings. DuckDuckGo doesn’t even ask you. It assumes that you want protection and provides it to you.
It will automatically block third-party trackers, stop most forms of silent tracking, and upgrade websites to secure HTTPS connections automatically. To enhance this, there’s an email protection system where you generate a new duck email that will automatically strip all the trackers out of emails before forwarding it to you. If you want to see exactly what trackers have been removed, then you can check out their dedicated privacy dashboard that will show you blocked trackers on every site.
Most importantly, DuckDuckGo doesn’t build a data profile on you at all, unlike Chrome, which likes to gather data on you to help integrate you further into the Google ecosystem.
2. Simplicity vs Feature Overload
Chrome has a problem where it constantly tries to nudge you into its ecosystem. It keeps suggesting extensions, promotes synching your Google account, and keeps shoving targeted ads in your face. There’s always a sense of being inside a Google product even if you’re just trying to browse the web, and although some of it is welcome, it can get intrusive.
DuckDuckGo, on the other hand, stays simple. That doesn’t mean that it’s less functional in any way, though. Most of the new toys that are provided to you are simply upgrades to your normal browsing experience.
For instance, the Duck Player is a fantastic upgrade to the normal video player. It’s slick, blocks out all ads, and stops your recommendations being influenced by whatever one off thing you decided to watch that day. No more will your recommendations be filled up by cat videos just because you wanted to be amused for a few minutes.
Another great feature is this nondescript little button that’s next to the usual trio of buttons in the top right called the fire button. What this button does is completely kill your current session
It also has a useful AI that can assist you whenever you need it, but it stays out of sight if you don’t need it. And of course, all the privacy protection controls are built-in by default, so you don’t need to go diving deep to find things that should just be built-in already.
3. What Chrome Does Better
That’s not to say DuckDuckGo completely beats Chrome out in all aspects. Although Chrome gives up a lot in terms of privacy, what it does offer instead is convenience and flexibility. When you use Google, you can easily log into all your accounts across all your devices. What’s more, the Chrome store sports a huge library of extensions that can add a ton of functionality to the browser.
While DuckDuckGo has a lot of admirable qualities that we’ve already gone over extensively, it’s still behind Google Chrome in many aspects. There’s also one more wrinkle to mention. DuckDuckGo actually uses more RAM than Chrome!
This is a quick comparison I threw up. Both browsers only had one tab open on Youtube’s home page. I didn’t bother turning off my Chrome extensions so they are still utilizing RAM themselves. You can see that the difference is quite stark because DuckDuckGo’s privacy features are working overtime.
This could be a dealbreaker for those who are already having issues with RAM usage, especially with the skyrocketing prices of RAM nowadays.
Which Browser Am I Using?
Despite all of DuckDuckGo’s shortcomings, I still find myself preferring it over Chrome. Even with the best Adblock extensions, browsing around on Chrome still forces you to run into a bunch of small annoyances that eventually add up over time. That’s not even getting into how satisfying it is to see the giant list of trackers that are being blocked from accessing my data.
However, I do find myself longing for some of the features that Chrome extensions can provide me, like many of the ones in this list, along with a few others that are more tailored to my personal interests. I can work around the lack of them, but I do hope that DuckDuckGo can somehow find a way to include extensions without compromising security in the future.
Do note, however, that I’m fortunate enough to have enough RAM to be able to dodge the memory issues that the typical user may run into. That could be a deal breaker for you. In any case, I hope that this guide has helped shed some light on how the two browsers compare to one another!
