DuckDuckGo’s privacy browser adds built-in password syncing

DuckDuckGo has added a new “Sync & Backup” feature to its privacy-first browser that will keep passwords, bookmarks, and favorites constant across all of your devices — without setting up an account. Falling right in line with its usual claims that it won’t track you or collect your data, the company says that the data is end-to-end encrypted and that it “cannot access your data at any time.”

DuckDuckGo writes that data should sync “across most Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone devices,” including what you’ve imported from browsers like Chrome. Setting up the sync involves scanning a QR code if you’re using a mobile device or entering an alphanumeric code if you’re using a computer.

According to DuckDuckGo, you can also set up single device backup and sync. And as with authentication apps, the browser gives you a PDF with a recovery code that you can use to create an encryption key to get to your data if something happens to your devices.

This addresses one of the main roadblocks to switching to DuckDuckGo’s browser from one that uses your data for its own ends like Chrome. It’s easy to say you want to use a privacy-respecting browser, but passwords are still king of the mountain, and the internet’s security situation demands that each one of them be totally unique. Password managers are helpful, but with this update, you no longer have to connect an outside password manager to DuckDuckGo (or track your passwords manually) if you want your passwords synced.

DuckDuckGo still doesn’t support passkeys, though. Given that they have a real shot at replacing passwords in the not-too-distant future, the company still has its work cut out for it if it wants to mount a viable challenge to browsers from titans like Google, Microsoft, or Apple.