How to uninstall DuckDuckGo on Mac

DuckDuckGo stores your bookmarks and passwords locally on this Mac. Its help pages say plainly that uninstalling the browser deletes them, and that DuckDuckGo Sync & Backup is the only way to avoid that loss. Turn Sync on, or move your passwords elsewhere, before you remove anything. These steps cover the DuckDuckGo browser downloaded from duckduckgo.com and the Homebrew cask duckduckgo; the recorded test used the download from duckduckgo.com.

Turn on Sync & Backup first

Sync & Backup is free and end-to-end encrypted. It syncs and backs up bookmarks, passwords and Duck.ai chats between devices. DuckDuckGo Sync & Backup

1. In DuckDuckGo, go to Settings › Sync & Backup and choose Sync With Another Device.
2. Follow the on-screen steps to connect another device.
3. Save the Recovery Code somewhere safe; you need it to get your data back if you lose access to your other devices.

How to start using Sync & Backup · Where did my bookmarks or passwords go?

If you use the DuckDuckGo VPN, disconnect it before you quit.

Quit DuckDuckGo and remove the app

Quit DuckDuckGo from its menu, then move DuckDuckGo from Applications to the Trash.

In the recorded test, DuckDuckGo carried two helper login items inside the app, one for Personal Information Removal and one for the VPN. After removal they were still listed, pointing at the app in the Trash. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off any DuckDuckGo entry left there.

Where DuckDuckGo keeps its data

These are the paths in the Homebrew cask's zap list, plus one folder the recorded test found on disk. Open each with Shift + Command + G in Finder; skip the ones that do not exist.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -ilf "DuckDuckGo.app"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Containers/com.duckduckgo.macos.browser" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/DuckAiNativeStorage"

• No output from pgrep means neither the browser nor its helpers are running. A listed process means something from the app is still open; quit it first.
• For each path, ls printing it means that data is still on this Mac. "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone. If you kept the container on purpose, a listed path is the expected result.

If you installed it with Homebrew

DuckDuckGo is a browser, so Mole removes a Homebrew install with brew uninstall --cask duckduckgo and never adds --zap, whatever you tick in its review list.

A zap you run yourself deletes much more. brew uninstall --cask --zap duckduckgo moves the container, both Application Support folders, the group container and the rest of the cask's list to the Trash, so bookmarks and passwords that were not synced go with them. It does not list DuckAiNativeStorage. Turn on Sync first, or leave --zap out:

brew uninstall --cask duckduckgo

Homebrew DuckDuckGo cask

Subscription

Removing the browser does not cancel a DuckDuckGo subscription. Cancel it separately if you no longer want it; DuckDuckGo's help notes that once it ends, Personal Information Removal stops sending opt-out requests and removed records can reappear on data broker sites. If I cancel my subscription

What Mole lists

For DuckDuckGo downloaded from duckduckgo.com:

• ~/Library/Containers/com.duckduckgo.macos.browser, ~/Library/Application Support/com.duckduckgo.macos.browser and, when it exists, ~/Library/Application Support/DuckDuckGo are listed as sensitive browser data. None is selected by default or by select-all. You can tick each on its own; Mole asks you to confirm and moves it to the Trash, where it stays recoverable until you empty the Trash.
• ~/Library/Application Support/DuckAiNativeStorage is listed as unverified browser data and kept, with no checkbox.
• The HTTPStorages and WebKit folders filed under com.duckduckgo.macos.browser are listed as unverified browser data and kept.
• The group containers HKE973VLUW.com.ddg.ipc and HKE973VLUW.com.duckduckgo.macos.browser.dbp are listed as browser data and not selected, and their Application Scripts folders are listed but not selected. The other HKE973VLUW.com.duckduckgo.macos.browser.* group containers and Application Scripts folders are not listed; remove them yourself in Finder if you are done with DuckDuckGo.
• The cache, preferences and saved window state filed under com.duckduckgo.macos.browser are selected by default.
• Login items are not edited; turn them off in System Settings.

What this test covered

DuckDuckGo was downloaded from duckduckgo.com, copied into Applications and uninstalled with Mole Preview 277 on September 19, 2026. ~/Library/Application Support/com.duckduckgo.macos.browser (216 KB) and the container (3.6 MB) stayed on disk as sensitive browser data, and the group container stayed too. That build did not list DuckAiNativeStorage, so it stayed as well. The Personal Information Removal and VPN login items were still listed after removal. A recheck on September 26, 2026 with a development build of Mole showed DuckDuckGo in Status as one row of nine processes, about 386 MB; with every selectable row ticked, the app and 11 rows went to the Trash, and seven browser-data rows stayed unticked by design: both folders filed under com.duckduckgo.macos.browser in Application Support and Containers, the two listed group containers, HTTPStorages, WebKit and DuckAiNativeStorage. Sync & Backup, a subscription, the VPN and the Homebrew cask were not tested.