If you are a privacy-first company like DuckDuckGo, then you are only as good as your privacy-protecting credentials. It is no surprise then that recently the privacy-focused search engine faced a backlash from users following an agreement it made with Microsoft that allowed Microsoft trackers to work on third-party websites on the DuckDuckGo browser. It now looks like that backlash has become too much for the company to take as DuckDuckGo has decided to overturn the agreement and block all Microsoft trackers. Let’s take a closer look.
DuckDuckGo struck a syndicated search agreement with Microsoft back in May, which allowed Microsoft trackers to work on the company’s own web browse despite the company’s long-standing history stating that it worked hard to block all hidden third-party trackers.
Although the browser was found to be successfully blocking trackers from Google and Facebook, the DuckDuckGo user base was not happy when security analyst Zach Edwards discovered that the browser was allowing Microsoft trackers to work unimpeded on LinkedIn and Bing domains. This is not surprising when privacy is the number one reason people use DuckDuckGo.
The company has now announced that it is rolling out an update that will block all Microsoft trackers most of the time. In the announcement unveiling the move, DuckDuckGo said:
“Over the next week, we will expand the third-party tracking scripts we block from loading on websites to include scripts from Microsoft in our browsing apps (iOS and Android) and our browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and Opera), with beta apps to follow in the coming month.”
Some tracking will remain, however, as DuckDuckGo relies on Microsoft advertising for revenue generation meaning that limited tracking from Microsoft will be allowed whenever users click on ads when using the browser. The solution is not perfect, but it does seem good enough for Microsoft at least with a spokesperson telling BleepingComputer that improved privacy for DuckDuckGo users as well as the ability to track ad performance is a good enough solution for the software giant.
If you are privacy-focused user of the internet you should check out the 13 best privacy extensions for Google Chrome.
