DuckDuckGo it’s a search engine and a browser focused on privacy, but has succumbed to Microsoft regarding tracking on its sites. In fact, it has reached an agreement with the Redmond giant for sites like Bing o LinkedIn on your browser, recently launched.
DuckDuckGo sells to Microsoft for tracking on sites
Born as a search engine, then thealso launch a dedicated browser, DuckDuckGo makes privacy and security a matter of pride. In fact, the web engine automatically disables the tracking of activity on en sitesdoes not store the pages you visitAnd. A choice that many users appreciate, given how other browsers and search engines instead record our every step online (by default).
But researcher Zach Edwards found that although DuckDuckGo automatically blocks all Google and Facebook advertising trackers (and other Meta platforms), it doesn’t do the same with Microsoft. So when you visit the Bing news homepage or discover posts on LinkedIn, you will be tracked.
The data does not include sensitive information, it simply allows the inclusion of cookies to track network activity and then fadorn banners and personalized advertisements. As happens with other browsers and search engines. The problem is, DuckDuckGo has gained notoriety by just saying it don’t be like others.
The CEO of DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinerg, confirmed the existence of an agreement with Microsoft. But he explained that the new policy is applied only to the browser and not to the search engine. The search therefore remains totally anonymized, while if you use your browser to access Microsoft sites you will not have tracking automatically turned off.
A decision he probably has commercially sense for DuckDuckGo. But that in the long run could have an impact on the trust of its users, which is increasingly on the rise.