DuckDuckGo’s Private Browser was Allowing Ad Tracking
According to a source, privacy researcher Zach Edward recently revealed that while DuckDuckGo’s browser prevented sites like Facebook and Google from scraping user data with trackers, Microsoft’s websites — including LinkedIn and Bing — ultimately overcame this barrier. It goes against the search engine’s main selling point, and, more importantly, it undercuts the fundamental purpose of the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser.
CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg quickly admitted that the browser does allow Microsoft to evade its tracking filters within the browser. And that this is done on purpose. According to him, it all comes down to the two firms’ search syndication agreement. It allows DuckDuckGo to use Bing results in its search results. It’s the most critical component of a collection of over 400 sources, including Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha. Weinberg further highlighted that this agreement only applies to the browser, not the search engine.
Still, it isn’t easy to justify the app’s main selling point. The starting line of its Play Store listing — is to disable trackers on the user’s behalf. Weinberg stated that the company was working with Microsoft to eliminate this specific stipulation from the contract. And offer a clarification update to the Play Store and App Store listings. The CEO also stated emphasizing that it is still significantly more private than the competitors, with faster load speeds, while its browser isn’t flawless. As Weinberg points out, DuckDuckGo’s browser has never guaranteed complete anonymity. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for the corporation to be more transparent about customers. Also read: Google Starts Rolling Out Advertisements in YouTube Shorts Worldwide
