DuckDuckGo Email Protection Beta Drops the Waitlist, Offers Safer Email for All

DuckDuckGo has done away with the waitlist to get into its Email Protection beta, opening the service up to anyone who wants to try it.

Email Protection from DuckDuckGo primarily acts as a sort of filter for your emails, whether from pre-established addresses or a new @duck.com account. This filter combs over incoming emails to check for hidden trackers then removes them to better protect your privacy and security. While the beta was previously limited, requiring interested potential users to sign up for a waitlist, that barrier for entry has been removed. Now, everyone can sign up for the beta and see what they think.

In addition to stripping trackers from emails, you can also use Email Protection to create an unlimited number of private emails you can use when filling out forms, which helps prevent profiling. You can also create a personal @duck.com email if you'd rather not link it to anything else, but the service does let you manage all of your connected accounts from one place.

Since it's still in beta, Email Protection has been in a constant state of flux and change. DuckDuckGo says that since its initial release, it's begun incorporating its browsing encryption tools to guard against email link tracking and can better detect and remove link trackers in general.

You can sign up for DuckDuckGo's Email Protection beta both in a web browser and through the mobile app right now. For the app, update to the latest version, then turn on Email Protection from the settings. On PC, install the DuckDuckGo browser extension for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Brave and visit the website. Mac users can download the beta directly.