[Bug] Websites do not open properly in Desktop mode (android)

[andreassar]

Describe the bug

The websites duo.google.com and chat.google.com do not open properly in desktop mode like in Chromium based browsers and Firefox on android. I don't think it has anything to do with the tracker blocker. On firefox I have ublock origin and the websites still load

How to Reproduce

1. Open Duckduckgo browser on android
2. Load gmail.com
3. Enter your credentials
4. Click desktop mode
5. enter url: duo.google.com or chat.google.com
6. should load in desktop mode (because it's already chosen). Somehow Google can detect that it's still a mobile

Expected behavior

Both websites, duo.google.com and chat.google.com should load in desktop mode like they do in desktops, and in other browsers on android (chrome, chromium based, firefox, firefox forks). Both websites are webapps for voice and video calls (after you log in with your gmail account) No app is needed to be downloaded

If I could change the user agent on ddg would be possible that these websites would load even though in the other browsers mentioned, no agent changes are made

Environment

- DDG App Version: 5.191.0
- Device: S21
- OS: Android 11

[github-actions]

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[andreassar]

anyone ?

[karlenDimla]

Hello! Thanks for your report.

I’ve tried this on the version you are running (5.191.0) and on the most updated version of the DuckDuckGo Browser (5.195.1) and I can see that after toggling Desktop Site (From the menu) for gmail.com, both duo.google.com and chat.google.com opens the desktop site as expected.

Could you try the most recent version and see if your issue still persists?

[andreassar]

Hello! Thanks for your report.

I’ve tried this on the version you are running (5.191.0) and on the most updated version of the DuckDuckGo Browser (5.195.1) and I can see that after toggling Desktop Site (From the menu) for gmail.com, both duo.google.com and chat.google.com opens the desktop site as expected.

Could you try the most recent version and see if your issue still persists?

Hello Karlen. Thank you for doing this! I tried clearing data and cache of the app and after it worked with the version I reported. I don't know why it wasn't working before or if it will break after. I thought maybe webview has something to do with this. Why is that module not included? For example in Huawei phones, they use Huawei Webview which isn't easy or updated at all. Android Webview module from playstore won't work. Brave browser comes with it's updated webview (or chromium).

Moreover I noticed that Microphone stops working if you minimize the DDG browser or put it in the background, until you reopen it. This is exactly what's happening with all the chromium based apps too.

[andreassar]

Hello! Thanks for your report.

I’ve tried this on the version you are running (5.191.0) and on the most updated version of the DuckDuckGo Browser (5.195.1) and I can see that after toggling Desktop Site (From the menu) for gmail.com, both duo.google.com and chat.google.com opens the desktop site as expected.

Could you try the most recent version and see if your issue still persists?

It breaks again, when I close the app or minimze and reload the page a few hours later. does it happen to you too if you close for some time the app and try again those pages?

[nalcalag]

@andreassar that's the expected behaviour when the website is reloaded due to the app being closed. We don't persist desktop/mobile mode and it's not something we would like to incorporate in the app just now as we'll need to evaluate privacy implications to it. I hope it makes sense.

Moreover I noticed that Microphone stops working if you minimize the DDG browser or put it in the background, until you reopen it. This is exactly what's happening with all the chromium based apps too.

Related to this matter, our expectation is that any permissions requested by a site should cease to function when the app is in the background. This is also due to the potential privacy implications involved.

Thank you once again for your report. I'll go ahead and close the issue now.