The DuckDuckGo Private Browser for Android is an excellent choice for users interested in protecting their privacy as much as possible. It comes with what you'd expect from a standard mobile browser, with some additional features and a few limitations.

The primary focus of DuckDuckGo is to provide the most comprehensive online privacy protection for its users. It does an excellent job accomplishing this and offers more than the available alternatives. Keep reading to learn more about the top three DuckDuckGo features in the Android app that you should try out.

Top DuckDuckGo Features

The DuckDuckGo mobile browser isn't a full-featured browser, but it's still a solid pick that's fitting enough for daily use. While it has limited search options, it's fast, has a streamlined and appealing interface, and provides detailed tracking information and protection.

There are a few features that make this browser stand out, though. These include global privacy control, a cookie pop-up manager, and a fire button. Each of these forms a piece of the powerful privacy arsenal that DuckDuckGo offers its users.

1. Global Privacy Control

Global Privacy Control is a feature built around making it easier to configure privacy for all the websites that you visit. It's designed to force websites to recognize and respond to your privacy preferences, meaning a "Do Not Track" request must be respected.

Activating Global Privacy Control limits what websites can see of your data, and what they can do with what they collect. Toggling it on invokes the CCPA "do not sell" rights request across a wide variety of websites.

Enabling Global Privacy Control is easy. Open the DuckDuckGo browser on your mobile device, then:

  1. Tap the three-dots button at the top right.
  2. Tap Settings in the drop-down menu.
  3. Select Global Privacy Control (GPC), then toggle it on.

Tired of seeing cookie pop-ups forcing you to either configure your cookie settings or accept the default provided by the site? You might also be tired of clearing your Android browser cookies. DuckDuckGo offers a solution in the form of a cookie pop-up manager.

You can enable DuckDuckGo's cookie pop-up manager to configure your settings in the background while visiting websites and avoid the pop-ups at the same time.

To manage cookie pop-ups in DuckDuckGo, follow these steps:

  1. In the app, tap the three dots menu button at the top right of the app.
  2. Tap Settings in the drop-down menu and select Manage Cookie Pop-ups.
  3. Hit the toggle next to Let DuckDuckGo manage cookie consent pop-ups.

3. The Fire Button

The Fire Button is a DuckDuckGo browser feature that clears all tabs and data in less than a second. It's conveniently placed next to the address bar and tab manager. When used, the Fire Button clears everything, including cookies, and can be done at any time while browsing.

While you can use the Fireproof Sites option to exclude data clearing for certain sites, DuckDuckGo will still block trackers on those pages.

To use the Fire button, simply tap the flame icon at the top of the app. Then select Clear All Tabs And Data and wait for the animation to finish.

The default Fire Button animation is called Inferno and displays flames floating from the bottom to the top of the screen. But you can change this to Whirlpool or Airstream by heading to Settings > Fire Button Animation.

Features Built for Optimal Privacy

Few would consider the DuckDuckGo mobile browser a feature-packed user-friendly option to rival the likes of Chrome or Brave. But it makes up for the lack of some of the more common browser features by hyper-focusing on protecting your data.

DuckDuckGo seems to be the no-nonsense privacy-protecting choice for any user. If you're interested in keeping your online activity safe, it might be the right pick for you.