At the same time, the browser promises users special privacy and blocking advertising trackers.
The browser allows Microsoft services, such as Linkedin or Bing, to collect data about users and does not block their trackers, researcher and founder of the Victory Medium analytical agency Zach Edwards found. For example, the browser continues to share this data with Microsoft when you visit Facebook* and other sites.
DuckDuckGo founder and head Gabriel Weinberg responded to a user that the browser blocks most third-party trackers, but an agreement with Microsoft on search syndication prevents them from doing more. We are talking about contextual advertising, which allows you to show ads in search results on third-party sites.
About the advertising deal with Microsoft is written on the website DuckDuckGo. It states that when a user leaves the search engine, the company gets access to the user’s IP address and the application’s identification string to display ads – usually it contains its name and version, operating system and language.
According to Weinberg, search results are completely anonymous, and the browser also blocks third-party cookies, including those from Microsoft sites. We are talking about sites not owned by DuckDuckGo and Microsoft, where the browser cannot block the download of trackers. However, according to Weinberg, the company is working to change this agreement.
DuckDuckGo started testing its own desktop browser in December 2021. It has the company’s own search engine, ad tracker blocker and email tracker blocker built into it. It also offers cookie pop-up protection on about half of the sites.
The DuckDuckGo search engine promises users special privacy on the Internet because it does not collect or store data about search queries, page views or purchases.