DuckDuckGo is one of the most interesting proposals when it comes to browsing the web with privacy. And while it has a number of projects in the works, like its own web browser, a service that removes email trackers, and a tool that stops Android apps from tracking you, it's still mostly known for its search engine.
And while DuckDuckGo offers many of the same features you'd find on Google or Bing, with the addition of privacy, it also has some hidden features. One of them is a kind of “cheat sheet” that allows us to learn endless keyboard shortcuts with a simple search.
Do you use Google Chrome and want to speed up your navigation using key combinations? Just type chrome cheatsheet in the DuckDuckGo search box and let yourself be surprised. The same can be done with many other programs following that format. Thus, for example, if you want to do the same with Mozilla Firefox you must enter firefox cheatsheet.
The same goes for other programs like Photoshop and Microsoft Excel, and even operating systems. If you search for windows cheatsheet it will show you the Microsoft OS keyboard shortcuts; if instead you opt for mac cheatsheet, you will logically see those related to Apple software. And the hack also supports Linux distributions like Ubuntu and KDE, among others, but with the difference that it focuses on commands for the terminal, instead of shortcuts for the keyboard.
DuckDuckGo hides very useful tools in its browser
Another interesting fact to note about this feature of DuckDuckGo is that it also works with some of the most important programming languages. Thus, if for example we write python cheatsheet we will see a box with the basic integrated functions and different methods for their implementation. And it also works with markup languages like HTML and Markdown.
Every time we use this function in the DuckDuckGo search engine we will see the initial compressed results, but if we click on Show more the list will be expanded to see the complete results.
If you notice that the keyboard shortcuts for some programs are missing or outdated, there is a reason. As HowToGeek explains, this browser function was developed as part of DuckDuckHack; however, this project has been on hold since September 2017. In any case, it is still a great function and can be very useful for those who were unaware of its existence.
