By
Sead Fadilpašić
Microsoft's trackers work, while others are being blocked
(Image credit: Pixabay)DuckDuckGo may face a user backlash after security researchers discovered a hidden tracking agreement with Microsoft.
The
privacy-focused company offers a search engine that claims not to track
people’s searches, or behavior, and also doesn't build user profiles
that can be used to display personalized advertising.
Search engine aside, DuckDuckGo also offers a mobile
browser (opens in new tab)
of the same name, but this has raised concerns, as although this
promises to block hidden third-party trackers, some from a certain tech
giant are allowed to continue operating.
Search syndication agreement
Namely,
while Google’s and Facebook’s trackers are being blocked, those of
Microsoft are allowed to continue running. Zach Edwards, the security
researcher who first discovered the issue, later also found that
trackers related to the bing.com and linkedin.com domains were also
being allowed through the blocks.
The news quickly drew in crowds of dissatisfied users, with
DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg, soon chiming in to confirm
the authenticity of the findings.
Apparently,
DuckDuckGo has a search syndication agreement with the software giant
from Redmond, with Weinberg adding that the restrictions are only found
in the browser, and are not related to the search engine.
What
remains unknown is why the company who is known for its transparency
decided to keep this agreement a secret for as long as it could.
In a statement sent to BleepingComputer (opens in new tab),
Weinberg said that DuckDuckGo offers “above-and-beyond protection”
other browsers don’t even think of doing, but that the company “never
promised” full anonymity (opens in new tab) when browsing.
"We
have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity when
browsing, because that frankly isn’t possible given how quickly trackers
change how they work to evade protections and the tools we currently
offer," he added.
"When most
other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are
usually referring to 3rd-party cookie protection and fingerprinting
protection, and our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new Mac beta,
impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including
those from Microsoft. What we're talking about here is an
above-and-beyond protection that most browsers don't even attempt to do —
that is, blocking third-party tracking scripts before they load on 3rd
party websites."
"Because we're doing this where we can, users are
still getting significantly more privacy protection with DuckDuckGo
than they would using other browsers.”
Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G,
VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and
regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written
for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held
several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.
Source: https://www.techradar.com/news/duckduckgo-in-hot-water-over-hidden-tracking-agreement-with-microsoft