Duck Player is a free YouTube player built in to the DuckDuckGo browser for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android that lets you watch YouTube without targeted ads and keeps what you watch from influencing your YouTube recommendations.
How does Duck Player work?
The browser’s built-in video player protects you from tracking cookies and personalized ads by enforcing YouTube’s strictest privacy settings for embedded video, all within a clean, theater-like interface. In our testing, Duck Player prevented ads from loading on most videos altogether. When watching with Duck Player, YouTube can still log video views, so it’s not completely anonymous, but your viewing history does not contribute to your personalized recommendations or your YouTube advertising profile.
How do I use Duck Player?
All you need to do is download DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser for Mac, Windows, iOS, or Android and turn on Duck Player in Settings. You can access Duck Player settings in the DuckDuckGo browser by taking these steps:
- Click the 3-line menu.
- Click Settings.
- Click Ad Blocking.
You can choose to always open YouTube videos in Duck Player, never use Duck Player, or make it optional – perfect for when you’re sharing your screen, using a shared device, or just trying to stay focused. It’s equally easy to get back to the default version of YouTube whenever you want.
Is Duck Player different from YouTube Ad Blocking?
Yes. Duck Player is the browser’s built-in video player that lets you watch YouTube videos in a distraction-free theater mode. It also protects you from tracking cookies and personalized ads by enforcing YouTube’s strictest privacy settings for embedded video, so what you watch in Duck Player won't influence your YouTube recommendations.
YouTube Ad Blocking blocks video ads in YouTube videos so you can watch without interruption. It's the full YouTube experience, just without ads. You can use the browser with both YouTube Ad Blocking and Duck Player enabled.