DuckDuckGo Browser Adds Private Bookmark and Password Sync

DuckDuckGo is taking a major step forward with its web browser by adding private bookmarks, passwords, and email protection sync across PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones.

“Now is the perfect time to make DuckDuckGo the default browser on all your devices, thanks to our latest improvement: Sync & Backup,” DuckDuckGo director of product Tim Raybould writes in the announcement post. “You could already import bookmarks and passwords from other browsers into DuckDuckGo, but now you can privately sync those bookmarks and passwords between DuckDuckGo browsers on multiple devices.”

DuckDuckGo is emerging as the go-to web browser for those who value privacy and security above all else, but to date, it’s been missing some key features, especially on the desktop clients. I’m still looking forward to such things as extension support and tab pinning, but today’s update is a nice step forward.

As you’d expected, the new Sync & Backup functionality lets you sync and access the bookmarks and passwords you’ve saved in the DuckDuckGo web browser across multiple devices. But it also lets you sync your Email protection account, and migrate your bookmarks and passwords to a new device. And it does this without requiring you to create an account, as you do with mainstream browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Instead, you simply link devices using a QR code on mobile or by entering an alphanumeric code on PC and Mac, similar to how Brave sync works. You can also back up an individual device, view all of your synced devices, edit device names, and configure various settings. That backup arrives in the form of a PDF you’ll want to save in a secure place, like OneDrive’s Personal Vault or Google Drive’s Safe folder. The PDF contains a unique Recovery Code with a locally generated encryption key you can use to access your synced data if your devices are lost or damaged.

You can learn more about Sync & Backup on the DuckDuckGo Help Pages.